Should Cong have kept off Left alliance?

Will the Congress continue to brandish the ‘Left-of-the-Centre’ politics to take on the Narendra Modi government? That’s a question being asked after the party faced a massive debacle in the Assembly elections.

Since 2014, apart from the Centre, the party has lost key States such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, and now, Kerala and Assam. The Congress is now limited to Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur along with Puducherry, which it was able to win on Thursday.

While some leaders point out that the “decentralisation” of decision making has been the unmaking of the Congress, another section believes that Rahul Gandhi should be seen less with the Left, and chart his own course of action to regain power.

“We have not gained anything from the Left alliance. Neither they nor we could transact our votes effectively in West Bengal. This alliance has no national character and it will not give any material benefit to us,” a senior Congress leader said.

Another leader observed that giving a free hand to regional satraps such as Oommen Chandy and Tarun Gogoi irked Congress workers in these leaders’ rival camps in Kerala and Assam.

“I am not saying that Hemanta Biswas Sharma’s diktats should have been accepted. But he went away with a good number of tea-workers’ votes. Also, Gogoi should have been asked to enter an alliance with AUDF’s Badruddin Ajmal,” the leader added.

Both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi said they accept the verdict. “We will work harder till we win the confidence and trust of people,” Rahul said. “We will introspect into the reasons for our loss and will rededicate ourselves to the service of the people with greater vigour,” Sonia said. Since its massive Lok Sabha poll setback in 2014, the Congress has been struggling to make a comeback.

“We are still a political force,” a leader said, adding that Rahul will have to lead the party from the front by taking up the president’s post.

The party high command, meanwhile, is quick to defend Rahul against criticism.

“We stand determined under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who continue to champion the voice of the poor, the downtrodden, farmers, farm labourers, young and the oppressed in this country,” said the party’s chief spokesperson, Randeep Singh Surjewala.

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