In the past week, the Congress lost Jyotiraditya Scindia, one of its most prominent young faces in the party, raising apprehensions that his exit may trigger a wave of dissension.However, the senior leaders insist that the situation is not as bad as it is made out to be. Scindia on Wednesday formally joined the BJP and was nominated as its candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh. His departure signals the deepening leadership crisis in the Congress which continues to grapple with factionalism and growing power struggles between the old and young leaders.
And, the outcries are becoming more public by the day. Nagma Morarji, a movie actor-turned-Congress politician and general secretary in the All India Mahila Congress, tweeted that people's efforts were not being given recognition in the Congress and many will follow Jyotiraditya Scindia in leaving. Nagma tweeted, "There’s a lot of discontentment among many of us seems like the party totally fails to see it @SachinPilot after a time it’s not abt ideology anymore it’s abt recognition of ones efforts and given one an appropriate due so it’s not surprising @JM_Scindia left many will follow too."
Senior Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi described Jyotiraditya Scindia's exit from the party a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel "alienated, wasted and discontented".
The generational divide in the Congress goes beyond the four walls of tussle over organisational responsibilities. The young leaders like Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada—all of whom are waged in a tussle with the older, more established leaders in the party—had publicly broken with the party line to align with the BJP on numerous populist issues like the revocation of Article 370 and demonetisation.
The party should have realised its folly at least after the consequences of Himanta Biswa Sarma's defection hit them in the face. Sarma was a key minister in the Congress government of Tarun Gogoi in Assam, helping it win re-election in 2010. After falling out with Gogoi due to the the former chief minister promoting his son, he joined the BJP in 2015 and is now a minister in the Sarbananda Sonowal government. Since then, Sarma has played a major role behind the scenes in expanding the BJP's presence in the northeast, starting with Arunachal Pradesh in 2015 and then Assam, where the party won a majority in 2016. Sarma is coordinator of the Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA), which was founded by the BJP in 2016 and has built networks with smaller parties in the region. These connections helped the BJP form the government in Manipur in 2017 despite the Congress securing more seats.
So, who are some of the young leaders currently on the warpath with the party?
Sachin Pilot
Sachin Pilot, along with Scindia, was a part of the youth brigade of the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi in the UPA years. Both Pilot and Scindia had served as ministers in the Manmohan Singh government. Both Pilot and Scindia extensively campaigned for the 2019 Assembly polls in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. To their great credit, they rallied up the party in both states to scrape through with wins, albeit narrow. Both the young leaders were tipped to become chief ministers, but the party opted for older leaders—Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh—in both states. Pilot was made the Deputy CM in Rajasthan. Like Scindia, Pilot's tussles with Gehlot and the 'old guard' of the Congress had sometimes seeped into the public domain.
There has been speculation that Pilot, too, could follow Scindia and leave the Congress. An editorial in Saamana, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, on Thursday, raised the possibility. "When seniors fail, the young leadership should be encouraged. This is not happening and that is why Sachin Pilot and [Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok] Gehlot are at loggerheads. If the matter is not resolved, it is believed that Rajasthan may go the Madhya Pradesh way," the Shiv Sena editorial claimed.
Jitin Prasada
Rumours around Jitin Prasada, a former Union minister in Manmohan Singh government and a Congress leader in Uttar Pradesh, joining the BJP has been swirling around for a long time now. Jitin is the son of late Congress vice president Jitendra Prasada, who contested against Sonia Gandhi for the post of the Congress president. Jitin was said to have been in talks with BJP in 2019, unhappy at not being given a senior responsibility within the party, whereas his peers have been made PCC chiefs or in-charges in many states. He started his political career with the Youth Congress. He won his first Lok Sabha election in 2004, winning the constituency of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh. In 2009, he won from Dhaurahra constituency after the effect of delimitation in Shahjahanpur.
Columnist Swati Chaturvedi wrote in NDTV that Prasada was all set to join the BJP before the general elections, but a car ride with Rahul Gandhi where he was requested to stay in the Congress reportedly changed his mind. Prasada had spoken out in favour of Article 370 in a CWC meeting.
Milind Deora
The South Mumbai leader known to be close to Rahul Gandhi has been expressing consternation against elements within the party for some time now. Deora, who was appointed president of the Mumbai Congress on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls held in 2019, had announced his resignation after the poll debacle. Deora had contested the Lok Sabha poll from Mumbai-South constituency, but lost to Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant. Deora was one of the Congress leaders who did not support Congress's vociferous criticism of Article 370 revocation by the BJP. He had tweeted: “Very unfortunate that Article 370 is being converted into a liberal vs conservative debate. Parties should put aside ideological fixations & debate what’s best for India’s sovereignty & federalism, peace in J&K, jobs for Kashmiri youth & justice for Kashmiri Pandits.” Deora had also raised a storm by praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Houston 'Howdy Modi' event as a "momentous first for India's soft power diplomacy".
What Congress party feels
"The resignation of Scindia may well encourage other disgruntled young leaders in the Congress to raise banners of revolt or to look for space in other parties. We have heard of many Congress leaders being in backdoor channel talks with the BJP. Such parleys may get intense now," a Congress leader, not wishing to be named, told PTI. However, Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma terms as speculative that Scindia's exit may trigger a spate of resignations. "Every person has a right to have one's own ambition and one's decision. He has taken a decision, the Congress party has taken a view and for the time being let the matter rest there," he told PTI. To a question that there are certain young leaders who are getting impatient and there are issues, he says, "I will not comment on anything which is speculation."
Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Ashwani Kumar says Scindia's exit at this stage is unfortunate and has certainly disheartened Congressmen. "It is also necessary to introspect so as to control the fallout of the resignation. This would require a series of steps and I am sure the Congress high command is seized of the gravity of the situation," he told PTI. Another party leader Ajay Maken says the Congress is going through a "tough phase" and some powers have been trying to weaken the party which keeps the country united". "People who follow the Congress's ideology... it is their duty to stand by it in these testing times," a statement quoted him as saying.
Party insiders say multiple issues like party is adrift, weak-decision making processes and uncertain future leadership are causing anxieties among leaders who have long political careers ahead of them. "Many leaders are feeling stifled in the party as they have no voice in the decision-making process. Scindia pointed out in his resignation letter today that he felt he could not serve the people or the country by staying in the Congress. That sense is shared by many leaders and the high command needs to address these concerns," says another senior leader.
Sharma says the Congress has always given place to all those who have contributed and who have been recognised for their merit. “It has been a judicious blend of the energy of the youth and the experience and wisdom of the seniors. That is how Congress party has been nurtured during 135 years of its existence. Had Congress not nurtured the younger leadership, the party would have not have survived for 135 years," he says.
-Inputs from PTI
