The Congress appears to be getting more and more desperate. Two national papers carry reports what is happening within the Congress. The first report suggested that the desperation was so high that in order to confine Modi, Priyanka Gandhi had agreed to contest Varanasi seat against Narendra Modi. Another paper reports that the Chief Ministers of the Congress have been told that if you cannot win seats, you will be replaced.
If both the reports are true, they only confirm how far cut off from reality the Congress has been. The Gandhis are under siege. The situation is akin to what happened to Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi in the run up to the 1977 general elections. Economic populism did not work. The family charisma has faded away. But a party which is merely a crowd around a family probably felt that the current leader in the family has not clicked. The real solution to the problem is to make Congress a more structured party. The Congress party solution is, if one incumbent in the family fails, the alternative can only be another member of the family. In an earlier write-up, I had almost predicted this. I only wish that the desperate solution of Varanasi had been actually implemented. The country now needs the myth of the other family member also to be exploded.
The problem is not with the Congress Chief Ministers. If the Congress loses, it is not because of its Chief Ministers. It is squarely because of the quality of government they ran and the non-inspirational personality of Rahul Gandhi. When the problem is within the family, why is the Congress looking for scapegoats outside?
Captain Amarinder Singh in a civilized election :
Captain Sahib has an unbeatable capacity to singularly lower the level of political discourse. In a civilized issue based election, he is a fish out of water. My advice to all my friends, supporters and well wishers in Amritsar is that we must fight this election with elements of civility, dignity and keep it issue based. An increasing desire is being witnessed in Amritsar for Narendra Modi to be the next Prime Minister. I can also smell the positive attitude of the people towards me and the issues which we are raising. We must not deviate from this agenda.
The Captain had called me an outsider. Unlike him, I have hundred per cent Majha blood in my veins. I had promised that this being my ancestral town, I will have a residential base here. I have implemented that promise. What about Captain himself ? Will the people of Amritsar have to wait for days altogether outside his Patiala palace in order to meet him?
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**Arun Jaitley
Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha )
*Disclaimer: The writer is a freelance journalist and the views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC.
