Ranchi: Congress is yet to find its space in Jharkhand. So far, four assembly elections have been held in the state, but the Congress could not manage to win or gain power in any of these. Nevertheless, the Congress party has managed to come close to power through alliance or support from other parties. Apart from the first Lok Sabha elections held in the state, the performance of the Congress has also been poor in the remaining three Lok Sabha elections. It is also worth noting that after the formation of a separate state, the Congress party has been changing partners in every assembly election. Along with this, questions have been raised constantly about leadership in the state Congress.
Political Expert and senior journalist Madhukar told ETV Bharat that Subodh Kant believes that there is no other leader as big as him, adding that Kant fails to understand how much acceptance he has among the general public. When Sukhdev Bhagat was made the state president, he could not rise above being a BDO. Rameshwar Oraon is unable to rise above being an IPS. The party will have to work aggressively to create a mass base. It is the job of the jeweller to make a correct assessment of the diamond; and here, in this case, such a jeweller has to be found. Nobody is ready to consider themselves less than the other; this is the primary reason for the internal discord in this party.
How was the performance in elections?
To understand the mass base of Congress in Jharkhand, let's look at the Election Commission figures. The first assembly election in Jharkhand was held in 2005. At that time the Congress party entered the fray in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. However, only 9 out of 41 candidates of Congress could manage to win; and 13 candidates lost their deposits. Congress got 12.05 percent votes in this election. In the subsequent elections, the Congress formed an alliance with the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and fielded candidates for 61 seats. In the 2009 assembly elections, 14 Congress candidates won and 22 had to forfeit their deposits. However, the Congress' base grew by 4 per cent to 16.16. In the 2014 assembly elections, the Congress party again changed its alliance partner. This time Congress, RJD and JDU formed a front. The Congress party fielded candidates for 62 seats but won only 6 seats and the deposits of 42 candidates were forfeited. The vote percentage also dropped to 10.46. When this equation failed, the Congress party united with JMM and the RJD. In the 2019 assembly elections, the Congress party contested on 31 seats and won on 16 seats, the best so far. The vote base also increased slightly and reached 13.88 percent.
Senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai says that there have been coalition politics in the state from the very beginning. The BJP also had to form an alliance since they did not have the majority. Whether Babulal Marandi is in opposition or Shibu Soren, our ideological thinking is that the BJP is fundamentally a party with communal ideology; hence, we made a lot of efforts to form an alternative government.
Major jolt in Lok Sabha elections
Jharkhand witnessed the first election of Lok Sabha in 2004 after the formation of a separate state on 15th November 2000. At that time there was a BJP government in the centre and the state but despite being in power, the BJP suffered a major setback and all the 6 Congress candidates won the election. However, only Subodh Kant Sahay from the Congress Party could win his seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress party was completely wiped out during the ‘Modi wave’ in 2014. In 2019 too, only one of the 7 Congress candidates, Geeta Koda, won.
The presence of Congress in Rajya Sabha is also low. There are four BJP members from Jharkhand, one from JMM and one Rajya Sabha member of Congress. For this state of the Congress Party, the party leaders blame the so-called communal thinking of the Sangh and the BJP. Former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay told ETV Bharat that the nut bolt of the Congress party needs to be tightened.
Subodh Kant Sahai told ETV Bharat that this is highly essential. "There is complete over oiling which takes place in the transition period, so it is important to tighten the nuts and bolts of the party. He accused the BJP of being a Hitler-like party. Just like what Hitler did against the Jews in Germany, similar politics is happening against the Muslims here. We will not do that work," Sahai said.
Lack of a charismatic face
According to experts, earlier some big leaders in the Congress had great acceptance but in later days such charismatic leaders disappeared. The high command began to feel that if the stature of the leaders building the base at the state level was not reduced, the power would be decentralized. The problem is that as soon as anyone becomes an MP or MLA in Congress, they assume that there is no bigger leader than them. There was a time when social and economic issues were discussed at the party level, but this system has stopped now. Apart from this, other reasons like internal discord and stumbling blocks posed in the return of leaders who have left the party are also pushing the Congress party to the margins.
According to Madhukar, the high command felt that the leaders who had social acceptance could cause harm, so they were sidelined. Gradually, the situation has reached a point where no such leader who had a mass base remained in the party. The reason for internal strife is that leaders believe ‘I am not less than you’ or ‘I am older than you’. At the same time, according to Subodh Kant Sahai, what is the definition of leadership; in fact, leadership comes from being collective and inclusive. The Nehru-Gandhi family is above leadership. People believe that they will receive justice from that front as they will never take sides. The Congress party is a 133 years old party; hence, the Nehru-Gandhi family is never in favour.
The credibility of the Congress, which had held the reins of power for more than six decades, has started diminishing with time. Its position in Jharkhand has now become like a party which is lagging behind. Another important fact is that merely sitting in a room and talking does not help in creating a base among the public. We will have to fight about the issues being faced by the public. The Congress party needs to strengthen its roots again because strengthening of the opposition is also essential for democracy.
Also Read: 'Soren's campaign won't help JMM-Congress alliance in Jharkhand'
