Congress flunks test

The Congress has flunked one of the first tests of its organising abilities since Sonia Gandhi became party president. It is of course only a few weeks since she took on the job and it would take a miracle in any case for this tired party to perform at the peak of efficiency. But the Congress must hope she will be able to ensure there is no repetition of what occurred during the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha in Assam and elsewhere. Of the 23 seats filled so far, only one went to the Congress with the unopposed election of Oscar Fernandes from Karnataka. Assam was a certainty but was thrown away, the one in Himachal Pradesh was surrendered because the party there appears to have given up the fight and a close race for one in Andhra Pradesh might just have been won with an extra push. In its heyday the Congress could take such setbacks with equanimity. Today, if the leadership cannot demonstrate at every opportunity that it has the will to win, workers will be plunged back into the state of despondencyfrom which they were beginning to be rescued by the efforts of leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, among others.The Congress in Assam has more than the numbers necessary to send its candidate to the Upper House. Santosh Mohan Dev was defeated in an act of rebellion against the high command which chose him despite opposition in the State. No doubt personal rivalry rather than high principle is what motivated Matang Singh, the leader of the revolt. But when the Congress president comes to taking disciplinary action, as she must, she will not be in a strong position to do so because virtue in not on her side either. Foisting on the Assam Congress a person who had just lost his Lok Sabha seat goes against the popular will. Nor does Dev have the cleanest of reputations. Siding with indefensible candidates, has the effect of making the party high command a part of factional disputes in the States and robs it of its authority as umpire.Some of the same factors come into play in Madhya Pradesh from where theCongress leadership seems bent on getting Arjun Singh, V. C. Shukla and M. L. Fotedar elected to the Rajya Sabha in May. Because Digvijay Singh will be relieved to get Arjun Singh off his back, he is likely to make sure he sails through. The whole party knows also that Arjun Singh has long cultivated Sonia Gandhi and has her ear. However, once again it will be a case of high level manoeuvres ensuring a Congressman’s success rather than the popular vote which has twice in succession in Satna and Hoshangabad gone against Arjun Singh. The Congress is not unique for rewarding persons for their nuisance value or because they are part of the boss’ support group. Most parties make deals of this kind. The Congress’ decline is due to the large number of politicians who are not required to pass tests of popularity but exercise an inordinate amount of power within the organisation and obstruct the growth of leaders with genuine grassroots support. If it does not make a break with its past and give a genuine democraticbasis to its decisions, it may not get too many changes again in the future.