Decoding Congress debacle: Is it RaGa himself or his strategies at fault..?

New Delhi, May 24: As was anticipated.. as it happened..! The nation has once again proved its power as a democracy to choose the best leader serving their needs towards the development and national evolution. Winning over the 17th LS polls and entering into the second term of the extant reigns, PM Modi and the NDA has marked its existence high in the public palate.

 

Following this, the Congress party has suffered another rout in the said elections wit several of its senior leaders losing the battle. And the worse added to it is chief Rahul Gandhi’s defeat to BJP leader Smriti Irani from Amethi-the traditional Gandhi pocket borough. In spite of their estimated and actual defeat ahead, Gandhi backed by the Congress party ironically continued to corner the polls while defending its own game.

 

“This is not the right time to explain what exactly went wrong in the voting process. I am going to act patient and full of respect towards the Prime Minister”, he said in an immediate press conference on May 23. He congratulated PM Modi for his win and said that this was a mass decision and that he completely respected it.

 

All the while he said this it seems that he had an illusionary mask clothed on his face. The profile full of anger, flawed beliefs and imprecise behaviour was all seen open behind the matte. Its politics after all..! What more can be expected from the partya person who had everything served in a silver bowl and never has seen and felt the struggle to win over..!

 

 

In an effort to oust the Modi led government, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi ran a concerted campaign over the past three and a half months, holding nearly 150 rallies and road shows besides press conferences to spell out his party's vision and counter BJP fact attacks, cornering the truth in open.

 

RaGa campaigned all over the country but his average visit per seat was among the highest in Bihar, though the Congress was contesting only nine of the forty seats in the state as part of the grand alliance. He visited the state seven times since February 3 rally, which in a way, marked start of his Lok Sabha campaign.

 

Gandhi, who contested from Amethi in UP and Wayanad in Kerala, campaigned in both the seats. He visited Amethi thrice and Wayanad twice including the days he filed his nominations. Apart from a road show in Amethi on April 10, he held rallies at three places in the constituency on April 22 and another two places on April 27. He filed nomination from Wayanad on April 4 and addressed a rally there on April 17.

 

 

In Uttar Pradesh, where 80 Lok Sabha seats were at stake, the Congress denied being a part of the 'gathbandhan' between the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal and largely fought the elections on its own.

 

Gandhi made 11 electioneering visits to this state since February and held rallies and road shows. He also met family members of CRPF martyrs on February 20. His last rally in the state was on May 16. Party leaders said that Gandhi visited Madhya Pradesh nine times and Rajasthan seven times, holding multiple rallies in the state considered crucial for Congress revival.

 

 

Further, in the elections considered crucial for the Congressies, Gandhi campaigned all over the country focussing on issues concerning the common man as he attempted to seize the narrative from the BJP which made nationalism a key election plank. Cornering the Prime Minister meanwhile was the best pass time Gandhi had for his continuous insincere attacks towards him.

 

Initially he hugged Modi in the parliament and then winked immediately after returning to his position, evincing his fake acts. He labelled Modi a ‘Chowkidaar’ and later added a ‘chor’ to it. He used ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ as a key to LS polls, but badly failed after the ruling reigns turned the tables down introducing ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign.

 

Rafale deal amidst, has always been a secret weapon according to the Congress party which RaGa unnecessarily kept on beating despite of the Supreme Court and Centre’s decision. He also made certain ill remarks positioning the apex court in the picture, to which he later apologised and said that it all had been in the heat of political campaigns.

 

While Modi was the main target of Gandhi's attack on the issues related to alleged corruption, unemployment and problem of farmers, he kept reminding people of the difficulties faced by them due to demonetisation and flawed implementation of Gabbar Singh Tax. With such an irrational behaviour where RaGa has always been acting first and thinking later, how was the nation supposed to trust him..?

 

 

Gandhi sought to present the Congress as a party committed to people oriented governance with its flagship initiative of NYAY ie Nyuntam Aay Yojana which promised to provide Rs 72,000 annually to the poorest 20 per cent of the families. The schedule itself sounding economically unfeasible, it was to be implemented in phases, which would have taken more than five years.

 

He also announced steps to boost jobs, health care, infrastructure and to boost economy. The Lok Sabha elections were crucial for Congress as the party was reduced to 44 seats by BJP-led by Modi in the last Lok Sabha elections. These also were the first elections being fought by the party with Gandhi as its chief.

 

 

The Manifesto released focussed on creating 1 million Seva Mitra jobs in rural and urban local government bodies. “Fill all 400,000 central government vacancies before March 2020, and encourage state governments to fill their 2,000,000 job vacancies. Enact a law that requires all non-government controlled employers with over 100 employees to implement an apprentice program”, the statement recorded some key-points.

 

It further stressed at enacting a permanent National Commission on Agricultural Development and Planning and introducing a Farmer Budget in the parliament every year. The manifesto strongly claimed that ‘We will deliver’ where the nation aloud asked possibly how..!

 

 

Pulling Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into the mainstream politics was one of the biggest trump card used by the Congress party. She, being appointed as the general secretary of eastern Uttar Pradesh in January, also campaigned in some states, but the major responsibility of campaign was carried by Rahul Gandhi who addressed as many as five rallies on a few days.

 

Vadra’s entry was demanded by the Congressies all over the nation where she was supposed to contest a strong position. But what made RaGa give her a position that was much subordinate aligned to her capabilities, is a big quest yet. Did he fear of the Congress divide or was he scared of her robust skillset, its all enveloped..!

 

Long before her official political debut, Priyanka had started campaigning for her mother Sonia Gandhi when she contested in 1999 from Amethi in her first election since becoming Congress chief. Priyanka had campaigned and managed the affairs of the party in the family strongholds of Amethi and Rae Bareli ever since.