The Congress lost Madhya Pradesh within 15 months of assuming power in December 2018. It had ousted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which, in turn, had ruled the state for 15 years.
The government, headed by Kamal Nath, had been on a sticky wicket ever since senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress and joined the BJP. But the problem in the party is more systemic.
The infighting within the Congress and the indecisiveness on the part of the central leadership added to its woes.
This is the second government that the Congress lost within a year. In July 2019 soon after the Lok Sabha elections, the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka collapsed after the rebels of the two parties resigned from the assembly, bringing down its numbers and paving the way for the return of the BJP rule.
The Congress rebels followed a similar formula to bring down the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.
But this was not sudden. Scindia had repeatedly flagged his concerns about the state government’s failure to implement the party manifesto or pre-poll promises. He had articulated his concerns and aspirations. But Nath and the central leadership of the Congress remained indifferent, prompting Scindia to quit the party.
The challenge for the Congress is to keep its flock together in other states ruled by it.
Rajasthan is already witnessing a tussle between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy and state unit president Sachin Pilot.
In Chhattisgarh too, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is at loggerheads with senior leader, state health minister and one of the aspirants for the top post TS Singh Deo. The differences between Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and his former ministerial colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu are out in the open. In Maharashtra, the problem is distinct, for there are deep ideological differences between Congress and its allies, particularly the Shiv Sena.
The failure on the part of the central leadership to address the dissension in the state units is adding to the Congress woes. Congress leaders have been waiting for an organisational changes since August last year when Sonia Gandhi agreed to assume the party president’s post on interim basis after Rahul Gandhi rejected repeated calls to take back his resignation. He had resigned as the Congress president on May 25 last year, taking responsibility for the party’s crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. He had then accused the senior leaders of keeping the interests of their children above those of the party.
The problems are not restricted to party ruled states only. In majority of other states, the party is yet to appoint different committees right from the block to state levels due to major infighting between the leaders as a result of which its functioning has affected severely.
