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Beginning of new era in Congress

In the 137-year history of the Congress, there have been only six such occasions when the election for the post of President was held. Of these six occasions, three have occurred in the last two and a half decades. First in 1997, Sitaram Kesri became the President through the election, then in 2000, Sonia Gandhi became the Congress President by contesting the elections and now Mallikarjun Kharge has become the President of the Congress by winning a huge majority after a high voltage campaign election. Think, the party which has been facing the most serious and biggest allegations of dynasty, in that party, in the last two and a half decades, three times the President’s post has been elected. On the other hand, the parties which allege have no elections since their inception. The president is elected each time by consensus, which means the approval of the supreme leader of the party. The supreme leader of the parties is either the president himself or his sittings are the idols of the soil. Even in the largest party of the country and the world, there has never been an election situation. Till date it has not happened that more than one person has filed nomination.

However, this fundamental shortcoming of Indian politics requires a separate consideration. At present, there is talk of Congress party, which has got a non-Gandhi president after 24 years. It has happened after some two and a half decades, when the command of Congress has gone to someone outside the Nehru-Gandhi family. After such a long time, a leader of South India has become the President of Congress. Being the president of a person from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family and from South India is the beginning of a new era in the Congress. There is no doubt that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi will have an impact on the new president Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge himself said many times that he would not hesitate to consult the Gandhi family. This is very natural as both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have been presidents of the Congress. So, he has a status as a former president and he also has a lot of experience. So if Kharge runs the Congress with his advice, then nothing will be wrong in it. BJP is telling the new president of Congress to be remote controlled. This is just criticism for criticism because in the last 42 years after the formation of BJP, except three-four, Mallikarjun Kharge has more experience and bigger stature than every other leader.

This is a coincidence or experiment cannot be said, but in Congress politics, two incidents have happened simultaneously. First, Rahul Gandhi’s departure on the India Jodo Yatra and second, a veteran leader from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family becoming Congress President. Both these incidents are of great importance. For the last eight years, the Congress has been most criticized for the fact that the post of party president is reserved for the Gandhi family. Comparing the BJP, the party leaders often used to say that anyone can become the president in the BJP, whereas in the Congress someone from the Gandhi family would become the president. Many jokes were told about this. With Kharge becoming the president, the edge of this criticism will be blunted. Even though he may be called a remote controlled president, the reality is that a non-Gandhi would be sitting on the post of the president. Kharge’s specialty is also that he does not belong to any political dynasty. He comes from the Dalit community and some 55 years ago he started the politics of Congress as a general worker. The second criticism of the Congress was about Rahul Gandhi. It was often said that he is not interested in politics, he often goes abroad, he does not get down on the ground and do politics etc. Rahul has answered all these criticisms with Bharat Jodo Yatra. These two developments have happened simultaneously, so their impact will be more profound and far-reaching.

Now the question is, what will change in the Congress with Kharge becoming the President? Firstly, the way of working and the work culture will change. Now Sonia and Rahul Gandhi usually used to do politics from 10, Janpath or 9, Tughlaq Lane. In contrast, Kharge will sit at the Congress headquarters. The biggest effect of this will be that the movement of leaders and workers to the party headquarters will increase. Kharge is not a SPG or Z+ security guard, so party leaders will be able to meet him in a comfortable manner and have his say. The leaders of his new team that will be formed will also be comfortable with him. Kharge has vast organization experience. He has been the city president of Gulbarga, the state president of Karnataka and now the national president. That’s why they know how to connect with common workers and strengthen the organization. They don’t need to learn this from anyone.

With Mallikarjun Kharge becoming the president, the Congress will also have electoral benefits. He is the grassroot leader of Karnataka. It is an honor for Kannadiga to be his president. There is an election to be held in May next year and the Congress will benefit from Kharge becoming the president. Kharge can tie up new vote groups with the party, put an end to the internal tussle within the party and, if needed, align with the Deve Gowda family. Keep in mind that Congress has high hopes from Karnataka. Along with the victory in the assembly elections, the Congress is hopeful that in the Lok Sabha elections, the victory that BJP had won last time can be changed this time. This work is possible with Kharge’s name, face and his activism. Kharge will be of great use to the Congress in Karnataka as well as in the whole of South India. Keep in mind that half of the total 52 Lok Sabha seats of the Congress i.e. 26 seats have come from only three states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana. Saving this, the Congress has to increase these from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, in which Kharge’s face will come in handy. Kharge being a Dalit will also help in re-connecting the old and dedicated Dalit vote of the Congress with the party.

Now note Kharge’s resume and compare it with any big leader of the country – he was an MLA nine times. He is a two-time Lok Sabha MP and currently a Rajya Sabha MP. He remained a minister in the state government and went on to become chief minister thrice. He was a minister in the central government. When the Congress came into the opposition, he became the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha and is now the leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha. He was the state president of Karnataka and has now become the national president. Despite all the ups and downs and bad days, he remained in the Congress and in spite of his grievances, acted like a disciplined soldier of the party. Whatever responsibility was given, he fulfilled it from the heart. Kharge’s journey from an ordinary Congress worker to Congress President will become a source of inspiration for the leaders of Congress and all other parties.

Shubham Bangwal

Shubham Bangwal is a Senior Journalist at Youthistaan.com You can follow him on Twitter @sb_0fficial
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