Has Congress devised new tactics for comeback?

Raipur, September 19, 2011

After being dubbed as weak opposition and factionalism-ridden party for about eight years or so, the Congress has now devised new tactics to make a comeback in the state. Experimentation is the buzzword in the party at present and it suddenly appears keen to adopt even the most peculiar ideas to destabilise the ruling BJP which kept it away from the power for such a long time.

In fact, it has been the weakness of Congress which the BJP has taken advantage of in the last seven-eight years for its fortification. The dispirited, rudderless and soulless Congress would never realised its mistakes if its national leadership had not taken significant moves to streamline the organisational structure. Accordingly, the party is functioning as a unit since last five months.

The responsibility to bring turnaround is being jointly shared by five leaders - PCC president Nandkumar Patel, CLP leader Ravindra Choubey, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Charandas Mahant, state unit incharge BK Hariprasada and AICC treasurer Motilal Vora.

In search of winning formula, this team is currently concentrating on two strategies – to collect evidences of corruption in BJP government and to raise multiple issues through its frontal organisations.

In the first phase, the Congress gathered evidences of high-level corruption cases in the state for which it gave short-term targets to the district units. On the basis of the evidences, the party prepared a charge sheet against the BJP government and hand it over to President Pratibha Patil recently. The state BJP was insouciant about the charge sheet from the beginning, but it awkwardly hastened to brush aside all the allegations against the government after its national leadership sternly asked it to do so.

For Congress, the task is half-accomplished. Its move has raised the eyebrows of BJP high command which had never expected that the opposition would highlight other problem areas (corruption cases, scams, irregularities and so on) of the state besides naxalism in such a manner at national forum. The opposition’s task will be complete when its allegations (based on evidences of course) would work as image-breaker for BJP government.  

Now, the Congress has started the second phase of its evidence-collection strategy under which it will target both ministers and officials. Since the Chief Minister Raman Singh is known as clean-imaged leader with no controversial past (Unlike the CMs of other BJP-ruled states), the opposition has discovered soft targets in some of his cabinet ministers who are facing corruption charges.

The success of Congress in its second attempt (i.e. second phase) would entail more anti-BJP reports nationally and more discussions in media and public about it. Surely, the BJP would least expect these developments which would only strengthen its villainous image in the state before assembly and general elections.

The other strategy of the Congress is to raise multiple (especially local) issues through Youth Congress and NSUI. Through these issues, the Congress aims to convey broader message to the public that its political agenda is not just to regain power but to solve the common problems either.

In coming months, the party hints to more aggressive and more experimental to mount pressure on government.