New Delhi: After reviewing poll losses in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will decide the future of veterans Kamal Nath, Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot.
Both Gehlot and Baghel are now ex-chief ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while Kamal Nath continues to be MP unit chief. According to party old timers, the former chief ministers used to get a central role in the party but the situation is different now as the Congress has to start preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections likely in April and May next year.
The difficulty is that if no accountability is fixed for the state poll losses, it may send a wrong message down the line in the party and if the veterans are replaced with a younger set of leaders without being given any party role, their alienation could dent the party’s prospects in the next Lok Sabha polls. During the recent poll loss reviews, Kharge sought explanations from the state leaders in detail and will factor in the same while deciding their future, said party leaders.
“The high command has reviewed the poll results and will take a final decision. First, we have to decide the CLP leader, then we will decide the future course of action in the party. Accountability will be fixed for the results based on the recommendations made by various leaders for ticket distribution. Lok Sabha preparation has been started in the state,” AICC general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, infighting in the state units, tickets for sitting MLAs who faced anti-incumbency, and a "less-than-effective" campaign were some of the factors that led to the Congress losing all the three Hindi-speaking states it had won in 2018. According to party insiders, Kamal Nath, Baghel and Gehlot did their bit as far as managing campaigns was concerned but influenced ticket distribution on several seats which the Congress lost.
Besides, the Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot rivalry in Rajasthan, Bhupesh Baghel-TS Singh Deo rivalry in Chhattisgarh and Kamal Nath’s unilateral style of functioning also played a role in the Congress loss in the three states which will have an impact on the parliamentary elections. The Congress could not win any of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan, could win only 1 of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh and 2 of 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh in 2019.
"The BJP polarized the state polls. They will certainly use the same plank in the Lok Sabha polls. They have started talking about the Ayodhya Temple. We have not done badly but need to start preparing for the parliamentary polls now and work very hard on the ground to put up a good show,” AICC secretary in charge of MP CP Mittal told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, keeping in mind the various permutations and combinations ahead of the parliamentary elections, the high command is likely to have the veterans some kind of responsibility to deliver in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in their respective states instead of accommodating them in the AICC. Also, a younger set of leaders may be named to play key roles in the parliamentary polls alongside the veterans to prepare future leaders.
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