More Delusion

Rahul Gandhi’s formal resignation letter from the top job in the Congress Party once again reveals he hasn’t a clue as to what happened in the General Elections. He continues to insist that his approach of ‘fighting against’ Narendra Modi, the RSS and the ‘compromised’ establishment was right, and the BJP’s victory was undeserved. One had expected that his graceful acceptance of defeat after the results were declared was out of respect to the people’s mandate, but now he is suggesting, or has been led to believe, that the electorate was somehow deceived into voting against him, it wasn’t what it actually wanted.
So, the sense of entitlement that the Congress first family suffers from has not disappeared in the least. Even the party is expected to feel obliged that its President is taking responsibility despite not being actually responsible for the defeat. In implying that, really, the party let him down, he is not wrong. Choosing him as President was a mistake in the first place.
The Congress as a political entity is an absolute mess, caught in a time warp. It would have been in its present state much earlier had it not been for the fact that it was resurrected twice by the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Given these artificial boosts and not evolving as a genuine political entity, it was left with only the first family as its lucky charm.
Make no mistake, should the BJP fail to live up to expectations, Rahul or his sister, Priyanka, will be jumping into the saddle once again. Almost everybody agrees that whoever is chosen President will function as a proxy and power will be exercised, once again, by remote control. But a BJP meltdown is a big ask. Although it depends much on the Modi-Shah combine, its ideological moorings are strong and it will continue to produce charismatic leaders from within its ranks.
However, in ideological terms, it is not so hard to oppose. The Congress need only look to the approach taken by Captain Amarinder Singh, whose robust nationalist approach and no-nonsense attitude towards divisive forces earns him the respect of the common people. He is not embarrassed to be seen supporting the BJP’s line on various issues, even as the ‘left-liberal’ pretenders make it an article of faith to oppose for the sake of opposition. Maybe, the party should consider handing over the reins to the Captain, who could reorient the party to something near the direction it needs to take, even if it will still be a long haul to regaining power.