New Delhi: Whatever the Congress might say now, it knew that the battle was over for it even before the voting. The ruling Congress went to polls with a defeatist mindset. Its campaign lacked energy and many of its leaders were forced to contest in the election.
Most of its leaders were expecting a respectable performance by the party and hoping that the Congress would at least touch 100 seats. But the massive win of Narendra Modi-powered Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has seen the Congress reduced to its lowest ever tally has shocked both the party and even some independent analysts.
The slow decline of the Congress actually started immediately after its spectacular victory in 2009. According to some insiders the party leadership underestimated the BJP and was under the impression that the sharp divisions within the saffron party would not it to put up a spirited fight.
The series of scams, indifferent attitude of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, the silent Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the elimination of state level leaders have hastened the decline.
The 2011 movement against corruption launched by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal thoroughly exposed the party and made it unpopular even among its voters.
The RSS, which had been closely watching the developments swung into action and started ground works for a Narendra Modi-led government. The cynical leadership of the Congress did not even bother to take note of these developments.
As a longtime Congressman says it was neither a party, nor an NGO. The Gandhi family firmly believed that the populist schemes would help the party to stay in power forever. It did not listen to the people, who advocated a broader outlook and new ideas to make the party relevant.
A senior Congress leader, who a minister in the UPA-2 said, "I believe Rahul Gandhi is responsible for this humiliating defeat. He was indifferent and dismissive. Sonia Gandhi had allowed him to run the party. His advisors were bad. Most of them were simply stupid and had no idea about what was actually happening in the country".
Another senior leader holds the duel power centre policy of the Congress responsible for its decimation. He said, "It worked during UPA-1 because the NDA was not organized. During UPA-2, the Congress courtiers kept telling Sonia and Rahul that the party was in good shape and Modi won't be able to siege power. Look, what has happened today".
The Congress also failed to get its acts together after the debacle of the party in 5 state assembly elections in December 2013. They were still hoping that either it can stay in power with the help of a dozen odd regional players or it can at least prop up a third front.
A person who works in media department of the Congress said, "Nobody in the top leadership of the party was ready to believe that it would get less than 100 seats. They used to say 'Modi has bought' media. People are still with us. Villagers are still with us".
Today's reaction of the top leadership shows that the entire party is in a shock. They are not even coming out to make a statement or answer questions.
A section in the party is hoping that Rahul Gandhi will quit office making way for a new leadership. But, the reality speaks of a different situation. Most of the top leadership is now busy shielding the Gandhis from the media criticism calling it a collective failure.
A known critic of the Gandhi family and eminent modern historian Ramachandra Guha said "I have been saying this for a long time. Under the dynasty, the Congress has no future. Today's results have proved me right. If the Congress wants to revive the party, it should disassociate itself from the family and it should become a democratic organization".
Will that happen? The history of the party proves that it is highly unlikely that the Congress will dump the Gandhis.
With most states not in its kitty and a small number in the Lok Sabha, coming days are going to be very difficult for India's oldest political party.
But, one can't write its obituary. Earlier it bounced back in 1980, 1991 and 2004. Will that happen in 2019 or in 2024? That nobody knows.
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