Can Congress, Mired In Electoral Setbacks To Internecine Rifts, Remould Itself In Jammu And Kashmir?

Senior J&K Congress leader, Ravinder Sharma, sees the setbacks as 'temporary', insisting the party's 'politics of secularism will defeat the communal politics of the BJP'.

Srinagar: When the results of the Lok Sabha Elections were announced on June 4, Congress stared at the third straight defeat in the Jammu region, losing Udhampur and Jammu constituencies. Yet, it was buoyed by the significant gain in vote share with a lead in 20 assembly segments from Jammu.

But, all that changed within two months as the grand old party saw the worst-ever performance in the September assembly elections in the Union Territory. It lost 29 seats to BJP in Jammu’s Hindu-majority constituencies and managed to win just six seats in the Muslim-dominant segments — one in Rajouri and five in the Kashmir Valley.

The party's continuing electoral debacles from mainland India to Jammu and Kashmir narrate its woeful tale from which its leaders fail to learn and unlearn. But a senior J&K Congress leader, Ravinder Sharma, sees the setbacks as 'temporary', insisting its 'politics of secularism will defeat the communal politics of the BJP'.

"Our electoral defeat is temporary, but we have great strength in our secular philosophy. Our candidates performed well in the 24 assembly segments. We had a dismal performance only on five seats which will be overcome by rethinking our strategies and efforts," he told ETV Bharat.

"In the 1996 assembly elections, we won seven, but later we rose again to form a coalition government with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2002 and with the National Conference (NC) in 2008. At that time also, BJP was playing the communal and polarisation card with the voters of Jammu," he said.

Beyond its electoral performance, political analysts say, Congress’ political history in Jammu and Kashmir is riven with factionalism where factions always conspired against the party presidents. This, party insiders recall, emerged when Ghulam Muhammad Sadiq became Prime Minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir and continues till today.

"Party leaders in Jammu and Kashmir consume much of their time in creating factions and hatching conspiracies against the presidents rather than utilising it to strengthen the party on the ground," said a Congress activist, associated with the party for two decades.

Just after the defeat in parliamentary elections and before the conduct of assembly polls, Congress replaced Viqar Rasool. The two-time legislator from Banihal was yet to reboot the party when several members, backed by senior leaders, sent letters of revolt to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge demanding his removal.

Viqar’s successor, Tariq Karra, the former MP and finance minister, is also facing revolt as several senior leaders and activists accuse him and other senior leaders of dismal shows in assembly polls. Senior Congress leader, advocate G N Monga, who has been associated with the party for over four decades and recently showed some dissidence with the new president, Karra, said the leadership must prioritise unity and consultation within party cadres.

"If leaders and workers have a clashing view, it should not be construed as a revolt. Whatever activities we are doing are meant to keep party cadres united and active. Our activities are not acts of dissidence," Monga, who was a member of the now-abolished legislative council between 2012 and 2018, said.

Reflecting on the internecine rift, Karra said dissent is the essence of democracy. "I am trying to develop a consensus on issues and that is what is needed. Cracks will be repaired and there is nothing which cannot be overcome. I am interacting with grassroots-level workers and senior leaders. The reconnection may take a while, but I am hopeful that Congress will emerge stronger and united," he said.

There is an ongoing debate within the party that the Congress president should be from Jammu where the party can pitch itself against BJP effectively than in Kashmir where regional satraps like the NC and PDP hold sway over voters.

But Sharma disagrees, saying Congress does not see Jammu and Kashmir through a communal prism. "Jammu and Kashmir is a single entity for us. We have to keep it together to defeat the communal agenda of BJP," he said, asserting that the party has given adequate representation to the Jammu region.

Many in Congress believe that a Kashmir-based president plays into the minds of Jammu voters and takes a toll on performance in the Hindu belt where identity politics becomes a talking point. Political analysts say Congress needs to reboot itself and take bold decisions to revamp the party as it cannot be written off by electoral setbacks.

Tarun Upadhyay, a senior journalist from Jammu, said to reaffirm its grip among people, Congress must shun the lethargic approach and take bold decisions.

Citing the 2024 Parliamentary elections, Upadhyay said Congress had a fair chance in assembly elections to reaffirm its ground against the BJP in Jammu region.

"In the parliament elections, the BJP candidates — Dr Jitender Singh and Jugal Kishore — each garnered two lakh votes less than in the 2019 elections, which indicated people were angry with the BJP. But Congress could not capitalise on the resentment in the assembly elections due to wrong candidate choices, lethargy and non-serious approach of its leadership," he said.

He said for revival, Congress must take bold decisions as the BJP did with its leaders in many states from dropping former chief ministers — like Vasundra Raje in Rajasthan or Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh before the assembly elections or in Jammu where senior leaders were dropped.

"People are always fed up with one party narrative. Hindutva and emotional cards have their shelf life. Only if Congress can take up people's issues and restart its connection at the grassroots, it will be able to revive," he said.

Karra said to reassert the party’s position in Jammu and Kashmir, he is gearing up the party’s footsoldiers who are the backbone of the party "to counter the menace of communalism and divisive" card played by BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.