Rejuvenated Congress set to wrest political initiative across nation following Udaipur Nav Sankalp Shivir

The Indian National Congress, the country’s oldest political party, has faced many upheavals and there are numerous examples of the 137-year-old party coming back with a bang.

The Udaipur Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir turned out to be historic in many ways as it was in the lake city that the party resolved to not only rejuvenate itself, but also gave the slogan of “Bharat Jodo” to prevent the disintegration of the country due to BJP’s divisive policies.

The detractors of the Congress probably thought that the occasion would see Sonia Gandhi announcing her retirement. But this turned out to be nothing but guesswork.

“The issue of finding a new leader never arose. Rahul Gandhi remained the choice of all and he is still serving the party and nobody opposed him, except one person. Rahulji will continue to lead the party and revive its fortune,” said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, without disclosing the identity of the person who was opposed to this.

The camp was given the name ‘Nav Sankalp Shivir’ -- it was not only an introspection camp but also an event of plain speaking. The Congress not only acknowledged its electoral failures in recent times but also found a way to revive its old glory by forming six committees to suggest the roadmap to do so.

Rahul Gandhi in his valedictory address admitted that the party had lost its contact with the masses and this served as a body blow to the party. The Kashmir to Kanyakumari “Bharat Jodo” yatra has been planned to reconnect with the people and send a message to them that the Congress is still very much active.

The party needed re-branding and this could be done by enrolling young members, who could serve the party with vigour and commitment. Thus, it was decided to give 50 percent representation to them in various positions from block to the national level.

“The need of the hour is to influx new blood into the party and give opportunities to the youth. Any party with a long history depended on the youth to achieve its goal. The youth were not adequately represented in the party’s organizational setup. Here, the committee on the youth of which I am a member suggested measures to induct youth and reserve 50 percent of the various organizational posts from block level for the youth. This would make them responsible and they would serve the party with commitment. Cadres are built like this with a long-time plan. The party should enroll more and more youth now to rejuvenate itself. We have faltered in the past by ignoring the youth, now we have realized it that only the youth could take the party ahead,” said Ragini Naik, a member of the youth committee formed by the AICC.

As the party is venturing into re-branding, it could go to the masses with its new programme and it’s the youth that would take the party to them.

The internal democracy in the party was seen when the six committees formed by it suggested various measures to revive the party.

The committees recommended a one person-one post rule and a one family one ticket ruler, with a rider that other family members would have to work for at least five years in the party to get any organisational position or ticket to contest elections.

This showed that the party would encourage only such persons who are ready to give their time to the party without any conditions and contribute to the cause of the party.

The Mallikarjun Kharge-led political committee felt that restructuring the party would help in achieving its various goals. It suggested that the party should go to the people by projecting its nationalism image against the pseudo-nationalism of the BJP.

The economy panel led by P Chidambaram suggested the need for educating the masses on how the financial relations between the Central government and the states had deteriorated in the BJP’s regime and how the states’ financial condition should be restructured for better governance in a federal setup.

The committee suggested means to expose the Modi government’s failures on the economic front that have led to unprecedented inflation.

The Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led committee on agriculture expressed appreciation for the Chhattisgarh model suggested by a member of the committee T S Singhdeo which has helped farmers in Chhattisgarh to increase their income.

The committee suggested setting up of a ‘National Farmer Debt Relief Commission’ and deciding the path from loan waiver to debt relief. Its declaration stated that it was necessary for the annual average income to be increased under MNREGA to Rs 18,000 by bringing its wages at par with the minimum wage regime.

The social justice and empowerment committee headed by Salman Khurshid suggested formation of a Social Justice Advisory Council to strongly raise the voice of communities belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and minorities and focus on problems faced by them.

These reforms with a focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will cover all aspects of the organisation, including structure, rules for appointments to party posts, communications and publicity, outreach, finances, and election management.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi announced that a task force will be set up to initiate organizational reform. This task force will be formed with the members of the CWC and will involve itself to implement all the points of the Udaipur declaration. It will take collective decisions to suggest means for the revival of the party on all fronts.

The task force will be formed with members having the experience to deal with challenging situations, with its focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

It will have adequate representation of all the sections to work with full commitment to implement the Udaipur declaration in letter and spirit.

After the task force gives its report, the party will arm itself with the new ideas and go to the people on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2 by launching the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

The Udaipur Shivir, rather than indulging in empty slogans, chose to work out an effective programme prior to state elections in the next two years and the General Elections in 2024.

The party will also launch the second phase of its 'Jan Jagran Yatra' at the district level from June 15. This extensive campaign will highlight economic issues, especially growing unemployment and intolerable price rise that are destroying livelihoods.

(Views are personal)