NewDelhi: The recent meeting of the Congress Working Committee was witnessed by the party president, Mallikarjun Kharge, in full command as he was as direct as saying senior leaders needed to pull up their socks or as straightforward as to give an impromptu feedback on Rahul Gandhi. His comments made during the session have caused a stir, especially for his berating of Congress for its organizational direction and electoral campaign.
Making a spirited defense of Congress leaders and simultaneously targeting certain major flaws, Kharge appeared keen on rejuvenating the party afresh with charismatic leadership. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi also uttered no complaint on the remarks made by Kharge, which can only signify cooperation between the two leaders.
The meeting started with Rahul Gandhi talking about past losses in elections and saying that the party should not get disheartened. He referred to Congress as the bird that rises again from the ashes.” But then Kharge, smiling, interrupted, saying that the Congress is a permanent entity and not even requiring a reincarnation. Laughing yet understanding, Rahul nodded to Kharge’s argument, maintaining that all he said was Congress has always come back stronger after every defeat.
Kharge did not spare the party’s chief strategist, Sunil Konugolu, and openly criticized him in the presence of leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Responsible for conducting surveys and drawing up electoral strategies, Konugolu ended up on the receiving end of Kharge’s temper, the Congress president being especially caustic, declaring the following about him: ‘You come to me with one promise, and when I look at reality, there it is, a completely different picture.’ I’ve seen this for several elections now, and what you say is we will win; the contrary is the case. It does not take much understanding of the game to see that a few guesses may work here and there, but your ‘system’ is nowhere near reliable.”
He also criticized fellow senior leader Ajay Kumar, who has overseen elections in many states but has failed to bring home significant triumphs. However, as soon as Ajay Kumar started explaining some suggestions that should be implemented for better running of the organization, Kharge, interrupting him arrogantly, said, “You have been conducting and managing elections in several states for years now.” You’ve lost much, much more than you’ve won. They asked, Why were these recommendations not implemented where you are head?.
The criticism didn’t stop there. Another Congress veteran, Mohan Prakash, also entered Kharge’s crosshairs. When Prakash came up with some daunting strategies for Congress’s revival, Kharge was quick to respond, saying, “You have been serving in various states and organizational positions for decades now. How come your recommendations were so effective if they have never been implemented in states such as Bihar and Maharashtra? We would have seen such outcomes, and then you could have brought them here.”
Kharge’s direct comments captured a simple message: the Congress is not happy with on-paper ideas and studying reports; it needs action plans to gain its mojo back across India.