Editorial: In self-destruction mode

Sonia’s decision not to seek re-election from Rae Bareli sends a wrong message to an already demoralised cadre

Sonia Gandhi opting for the Rajya Sabha route to enter Parliament serves as poor optics for the Congress at a time when the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) bloc is crumbling under the weight of its inherent contradictions and its constituents are caught in utter disarray ahead of the general elections. However compelling the reasons may be, Sonia’s decision not to seek re-election from Rae Bareli sends a wrong message to an already demoralised cadre and marks the end of a chapter for the party. Ironically, this is the time for the Congress to get into the driver’s seat and steer the negotiations for seat adjustments with other opposition parties and forge a common agenda to take on the BJP-led NDA at the hustings. A credible alternative political, social and economic agenda alone can help the opposition take on the mighty and indefatigable electoral war machine of the saffron party. As a political experiment started in June last year, the I.N.D.I.A grouping has faltered in recent weeks with the exits of the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the refusal of Mamata Banerjee and Bhagwant Mann to agree to a seat-sharing pact with the Congress in West Bengal and Punjab respectively and now the AAP’s latest offer of just one seat to the grand old party in New Delhi. With just over two months left for the Lok Sabha elections, there is an urgent need for a common minimum programme based on livelihood issues, social equality and communal harmony.

However, the opposition alliance has yet to initiate discussions on the framework of the CMP. In fact, it is rapidly disintegrating in the absence of a strong rallying point and a credible alternative narrative. After the setback in Bihar where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made yet another U-turn and dumped Mahagathbandhan, Maharashtra saw the exit of veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who has since joined the BJP. Last month, former MP Milind Deora left the party. The central leaders appear indifferent to the exits of veterans. Forced to fight its own demons, the Congress is helplessly watching the I.N.D.I.A bloc splintering with each passing day. The BJP, on the other hand, has been able to strike new alliances with ease. The RLD decided to cross over to the NDA, days after the central government bestowed the Bharat Ratna on party chief Jayant Chaudhary’s grandfather and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. In Andhra Pradesh, the return of the Telugu Desam Party to the NDA fold is imminent. The NDA’s net has widened now with the inclusion of the smaller parties, even as the BJP, through calculated manoeuvres, encouraged a split of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and appropriated a dominant section from the original leader, Uddhav Thackeray, as well as Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party.

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