AICC promises ‘course-correction’ after loss | Economic Times

Rahul Gandhi jumping into the deep sea during the Kerala election campaign has re-emerged as the most ironical symbol of Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Vadra, leading the Congress campaigns which has landed the party in deep choppy electoral waters in Kerala, Assam, Bengal, and Puducherry, besides making it a dispensable ally to the DMK in TN. What was internally designed as the ‘heralding’ moment of Rahul’s second incarnation on a ‘winning note’ and the ‘pan-state arrival’ of Priyanka, turned out to be a collective electoral doom day on Sunday for the Congress First Family and the AICC set-up controlled by them.“The entertainment bands usually perform to keep the crowds engaged before the real leaders reach the campaign venues. But, Rahul ji chose himself to be an entertainer who does deep-sea diving, on-stage push-ups and marshal art demos at campaign venues. People took him as an entertainer and our party as a family circus and voted for those parties led by real leaders. And, here we are,” quipped a senior Congress MP about the party’s defeat.Such was the Gandhis’ confidence, and quality of ‘strategic input’ from their chosen team, that even Vadra departed from the usual practice of sticking to the UP campaign, to join her brother in leading the party campaign in Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu –– in WB and Puducherry the brother did the honours in solo role –– to demonstrate, especially to the internal Doubting Thomases, that the siblings can both “lead” and “deliver victories” for the party. AICC tried to tactically buy internal peace at this hour of defeat by promising ‘a course correction’. “We recognise that the election results are not as per our expectations, particularly those in Assam and Kerala. Congress will study the results and all the reasons and we are committed to correcting our mistakes and taking appropriate course correction,” said spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. Leading changeseeker, Ghulam Nabi Azad chose to play ‘statesman’. “The Congress performances in Kerala, Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have come as a huge disappointment. I congratulate Mamata Banerjee for stopping the BJP and MK Stalin for leading DMK to victory. Yet, the fate of the nation is our first priority during this battle against Covid. This is the time for the nation, the people and also the Congress to stand united in the fight against Covid. The exercise of looking into what has gone wrong in the elections and in the Congress can wait,” Azad said.Another change-seeker Veerappa Moily said, “The disappointing Congress electoral show has shown that there has to be a change in our party’s functional approach. We need to do an honest introspection and the party should also have the right persons in leadership posts”.Apart from the Gandhi siblings leading the campaign, they also handpicked, with endorsement from Sonia Gandhi, the relatively inexperienced organisation in-charges in Assam, Bengal and TN with only Kerala getting experienced Tariq Anwar to be the in-charge but under the eyes and ears of AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal.The setback notwithstanding, Sonia Gandhi and AICC loyalists are learnt to be keen to reinstall Rahul as Congress chief again even if it meant pushing it through the Covid surge through an online exercise. “The CWC decision to have a new Congress president by June end stands,” Surjewala said.“Since the CWC and AICC comprises members nominated, not elected, by Sonia Gandhi, trust most them to raise their hands to endorse any succession plan of the Gandhis, more so when many of them too are being allowed to promote their own children’s career within the Congress in return. But, then that may not be the only agenda for the entire Congress leaders and workers,” said a CWC member.