Congress needs old body but new soul in 2024: PK

On the need for a non-Gandhi as party chief, election strategist Prashant Kishor's new plan suggests that a such a person may be appointed a vice president or a working president to silence the critics of the Gandhi family, especially the BJP, which often slams the grand old party over dynastic politics while conveniently practicing it, reports ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: The PK plan 2.0 for the revival of the Congress ahead of the 2024 national elections is basically an updated version of the document he had presented before the party high command last year. The reworked plan, presented on April 16 before Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and some senior leaders, mostly draws from the last year’s plan, which had suggested that the grand old party should go in for a reincarnation meaning the same body but a new soul.

The route to reincarnation would be through rebuilding the party and democratising it, says the new plan. The new elements are the idea to focus on contesting 370/543 Lok Sabha seats alone in 2024. The other related point is that the Congress should go alone in big states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which send 120 seats to the Lok Sabha, while forging alliances with like minded regional parties in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

"It is about Winning India in 2024," the new plan says and lists the reasons like failure to capitalise on legacy and achievements, structural weaknesses and lack of connect with the masses which were responsible for the grand old party’s slide from 1984 to 2019.

One of the key recommendations in the earlier plan also finds place in the new suggestions. This relates to the high command and mentions that while Sonia Gandhi should be at the helm of the AICC, Rahul Gandhi should take charge of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP).

At present Sonia heads the CPP. On the need for a non-Gandhi as party chief, the new plan suggests that a such a person may be appointed a vice president or a working president to silence the critics of the Gandhi family, especially the BJP, which often slams the grand old party over dynastic politics while conveniently practicing it.

On re-strengthening the party, the new plan suggests that the Congress needs to reclaim its founding tenets and create an army of grassroots leaders and foot soldiers. Among other suggestions include, the creation of a new Congress for the masses, protecting its values and core principles, and destroying a sense of entitlement and sycophancy.

It also discusses on fixing the alliance conundrum, besides advocating one family, - one ticket rule to counter prevalent nepotism, reconstitution of organisational bodies via elections across all levels, fixed term and fixed tenures for all posts including Congress President and Congress Working Committee, identifying and meaningfully engage 15,000 grassroots leaders and activate 1 crore foot soldiers across India.