An opportunity lost

NOTWITHSTANDING THE ``HUGE'' turnout in the Congress' organisational polls, the incidents witnessed in Lucknow as well as the display of ``loyalty'' to Ms. Sonia Gandhi by the partymen at various levels and stages have robbed the exercise somewhat of a sense of authenticity. It may be true that the Congress is the only party, across the political spectrum, with a Constitution that provides for such an elaborate mechanism to elect its president. In all other parties, the election of the top leader is a virtual closed door affair; and there is hardly any other party where the contest for the top post is held in such an open fashion as was witnessed in the battle between Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Jitendra Prasada during the last couple of weeks. The points raised by Mr. Prasada in the course of his campaign could have been made use of by Ms. Sonia Gandhi and her camp followers in the party to ensure an earnest debate on the future course that the Congress as a party must take.

Given the prevalent reality, where it has become imperative for the Congress as a party to once again position itself as a platform of struggle, the only way to achieve this transformation - from being the natural party of governance to becoming an instrument of struggle - was to ensure a genuinely democratic election to the top post. Instead, Ms. Sonia Gandhi's silence when Mr. Prasada's supporters were roughed up within the AICC headquarters (moments after he filed his nominations) and the manner in which his campaign trail was rendered a farce by leaders of the party establishment in the various States (when they did the vanishing act when Mr. Prasada visited the party offices seeking votes) indicated the lack of any real interest in supporting the idea of greater internal democracy. Ms. Sonia Gandhi was at pains to point out that the Congress was the only party where inner-party democracy was practised in the complete sense of the term, she seemed to have few qualms about letting her camp followers launch tirades against Mr. Prasada and even accuse him of acting on behalf of ``enemies'' of the party by deciding to contest. This is sychopancy at its worst.

It is in this context that one cannot but feel concerned over the ugly scenes witnessed in Lucknow on the day of elections. That the police had to be brought in to ensure peace at the PCC office at Lucknow is by itself a matter of concern. Add to it the charge by Mr. Prasada that his supporters were injured in the police action and that the list of voters was manipulated by the ``official'' camp. It is simply baffling that such means were adopted, particularly so, when there could hardly be any doubts over the outcome of the polls. The abject dependence of a cross section of the Congress ranks (who constitute the electoral college) on a member belonging to the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty is so well known that there are few doubts over the outcome of the November 12 polls. This being the case, the Congress should have made use of the organisational polls to rejuvenate the party machinery; such an attempt would have gone a long way in transforming the Congress set-up into a platform of struggle. Such a transformation of the party organisation into a vibrant platform challenging the onslaught by the majoritarian Sangh Parivar is necessary for the party to retain its relevance in the political discourse. By reducing the organisational polls to a farce, the leaders in the Congress in general and Ms. Sonia Gandhi in particular have let go of a valuable opportunity.

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