CONGRESS' NEW FACE IN GUJARAT

HARDIK PATEL TO LEAD THE PARTY IN MODI-SHAH BACKYARD

Hardik Patel - Courtesy: Face Book

While the suspense over Sachin Pilot's political future continues to hang in the balance, there seems to be some positive news coming out of the Congress camp in Gujarat. In Ahmedabad, the grand old party has decided to hand over the reins to the young Patidar leader - Hardik Patel. For a party bereft of a loyal voter base or a solid leadership in the state, the move is certainly a step in the right direction. With the Congress being out of power in the the land of Modi and Shah since 1998, the appointment of 27 year old Hardik as the Working President of the Gujarat Congress, perhaps the youngest state president for any major political party in India, can prove to be a game changer in the fight for 2022.

For decades, the INC seemed happy playing second fiddle to the BJP in the western state; however, in the 2017 state elections, infused by the energy brought in by the likes of Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mewani, the Congress fought tooth and nail, restricting the saffron camp to 99, its worst tally in decades. Almost immediately though, the party lost its momentum, slipping back to its typical laissez-faire attitude and ended up conceding all 26 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in Gujarat in the last General Elections. What's worst, months later, several party MLAs walked over to the saffron camp, amongst them was one of the poster boys of 2017, Alpesh Thakor, clearly indicating the rot within the state Congress. While a great opportunity for revival may have been lost in the winter of 2017, it is better late than never; Patel's elevation brings in hopes for a major upheaval in the Gujarat chapter of the INC. Hardik certainly has the potential to be the torch bearer of Congress' fortunes in the western state. With the polls two years away, the young Patidar leader has his task cut out.

Face of Gujarat Congress: Post the heydays of Madhav Singh Solanki and Chimanbhai Patel, the INC in Gujarat has never had a political leader whose popularity spanned across the different regions and communities. In fact, for long, the party in the state was led by Shankarsinh Vaghela, a saffron import. Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmad Patel who hails from the state is more of a organizational man than a mass leader. In the 13 years he served as the Gujarat's CM, Congress leaders like Shaktisinh Gohil, Arjun Modhwadia and Siddharth Patel were no match to Narendra Modi. However, incumbent CM Vijay Rupani lacks the charisma of the current PM. The time is perfect for a young and dynamic leader like Hardik to fill in the vacuum and begin his ascent on the state's political landscape.

The PAAS leader needs to employ a two pronged strategy in his quest to emerge as the new mass leader of the Congress. Firstly, he has to consolidate his position as the biggest Patel leader in the state. However, he has to realize that merely cultivating the state's largest community won't be enough; he has to woo other communities too. Congress stalwart Madhav Singh Solanki built up the KHAM (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim) combination and led the INC to a famous victory in the 80s winning 150 seats. Muslims have for long backed the INC but the young leader from Mehsana has to be careful that he does not play into the hands of the BJP in its attempts to communalize the 2022 polls. If Hardik can successfully transform himself from being the leader of the Patels to one who can build and lead a combination of communities against the saffron camp in the next two years, he will definitely be the top contender for the post of CM in case of a Congress win.

Rebuilding the party: After five consecutive loses to the BJP in Gujarat, it is quite natural that the morale of the party workers continues to be at an all time low. In spite of an impressive showing in the 2017 polls, the party has failed to capitalize on the advantages that it gained back then, largely because the party organization is in shambles. Infighting, like in any other state unit is still rampant, with favoritism always scoring over merit and talent. As such, the INC has somehow failed to convert the massive anti-incumbency against the BJP, into its favor. Another problem that has been plaguing the party in Ahmedabad for long is the desertion of its MLAs, especially before the Rajya Sabha polls.

Its now up to Hardik to convert the moribund Congress unit in Gujarat into a well-oiled machine that can take on the saffron outfit. Perhaps, the first step is to do away with old timers who have been warming their posts for years without delivering any tangible benefits for the INC. New leaders need to be identified and groomed before the 2022 polls. Next, Patel needs to galvanize the party cadres, the ordinary Congress worker on the street in the fight against the BJP. The karyakartas need to be enthused so that they can take the party's message to the masses. He needs to make alliances with sub-regional outfits and social organizations dissatisfied with the BJP and take them on board. Ticket distribution needs to be based on a candidate's potential to win and not on him/her being in good books of some top state party leader.

Channelizing the anti-incumbency against the BJP: A large section of the Gujarati electorate has been unhappy with the BJP, especially over demonetization and the hasty implementation of the GST. This was largely evident from the way the party's tally fell below the 3 figure mark in 2017, for the first time since 1993. The woes of the ruling outfit was only attenuated by the absence of a strong leader like Modi whereas the agitation of the Patidars, long considered to be loyalists of the saffron camp, only made the matters worse. That the BJP somehow managed to hang on to power, shows the dismal state of affairs in the INC camp. After ushering in key reforms to rebuild the Congress in the state, Patel needs to work on milking this anti-incumbency against the saffronists. He must shun the comforts of the air conditioned office in Ahmedabad and hit the trail right away. He needs to tour the state, attend rallies and building up the support base for the Congress. The failure of the incumbent regime, especially its below average handling of the Covid pandemic in the state needs to be highlighted. The party's campaigns needs to be innovative and centered around the youth, women and the poor so that dissatisfaction against the Rupani government can be channelized to give INC the advantage.

Hardik Patel's first test will be leading the party in the by polls for the eight assembly seats that fell vacant after the elected Congress MLAs resigned to join the BJP. Every seat that the INC wins in the by polls will enhance his reputation many folds.

While Hardik gets down to lead the Congress in 2022, the message to the Congress High Command would be to have a bit of patience. Expecting the young leader to do wonders in months would prove to a blunder. Hardik needs to be given a free hand, part from funds to take on the BJP. It is generally the Congress' culture to prevent the growth of strong state leaders. From Devaraj Urs to Sharad Pawar in the yester years to the likes of Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot now, the Gandhis have always been known to cut powerful state satraps to size. However, such an approach will not work anymore considering that the stocks of the Gandhi family are at an all time low. Leaders like Patel, Amarinder Singh and D K Shivakumar need to be empowered. It is only through them that the INC can be revived, first in the states and then at the Center.