Hugh Command including Rahul Gandhi are clueless on how to deal with them
By Sushil Kutty
The Congress in Karnataka is in a mess. The Congress high command is also in a mess when dealing with the mess in the Karnataka state unit of the Congress. There is also LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi whose functioning style cannot be challenged. Rahul is more diversionary than accommodative. Rahul Gandhi specializes in tying up the Congress in knots, at the level of the high command and the states.
The Congress in Karnataka is fighting an internal as well as an external struggle, where the BJP, which lost to the grand old party in the assembly elections, is embroiled in a war of words over electoral roll manipulation allegedly in cahoots with the Election Commission of India, if Rahul Gandhi is to be believed.
As it is, there is the never-ending war between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar. The latter says it is his turn to become Chief Minister. The former is convinced he enjoys Rahul Gandhi’s unalloyed trust. Rahul Gandhi must have the last word on all matters concerning the Congress anywhere under the sun.
Rahul Gandhi is these days actively leading and fighting the external war involving the Opposition’s fight to delegitimize the standing of the BJP in elections. Also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s standing in the eyes of the electorate. The fight is about the Bihar assembly elections but the war is being waged in Delhi, and in Karnataka.
The Karnataka assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, the Karnataka Congress is in the thick of the electoral roll imbroglio . Rahul Gandhi is the javelin, the tip of the spear! So much so, Rahul Gandhi is at the helm of the INDIA bloc, a development that saw Rahul Gandhi take the lead when 300 Opposition MPs went on a wild goose march from Parliament to Nirvachan Sadan.
Except for Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, who jumped a police barricade, there was no challenge to Rahul Gandhi’s numero uno ranking. LoP Rahul Gandhi stood tall in the noon sun. It is that time of the year. The BJP and the Modi government along with the Election Commission of India felt the heat. The ECI had invited 30 opposition MPs for grievance-sharing but 300 marched!
There was no way Nirvachan Sadan would have succumbed to the pressure tactics of the INDIA bloc. The reaction came from Karnataka, and from a Congress minister in the Siddaramaiah government. Minister Rajanna seemed incapable of taking a decision and sticking to it. Rajanna’s ‘big brother’ act cast doubts on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ charge against BJP-ECI.
Rajanna alleged the voter list was prepared under Congress rule, which made Rahul Gandhi a liar, a charge which in the American wild west would have led to a gunfight. And here was Rajanna taking a knife to a gunfight! His challenge to Rahul Gandhi fizzled out in no time. The Congress state command nipped the mutiny in the bud and Rajanna took a somersault!
Rajanna’s theory that Rahul Gandhi had erred was replaced by confidence and trust in Rahul Gandhi. And the BJP was back in the blame-seat after Rajanna’s “rapid U-turn”. The Karnataka minister, who is in the Siddaramaiah camp, had no complaints against Rahul Gandhi’s “Vote Chori” allegation against the BJP/ECI combine. The “misconceptions” in Rajanna’s head were cleared, leaving DK Shivkumar without an issue to fight Siddaramaiah with.
KN Rajanna was dropped from the cabinet and he said he would go to New Delhi to address “preconceived notions” about him. The senior Congress MLA’s removal for the critical remarks regarding Rahul Gandhi’s five-act manipulation charge against the BJP and the ECI couldn’t be left to damage Rahul Gandhi’s scorecard. Like God and Satan, the Gandhi scion has the reputation of acting in mysterious ways!
That is not to say Rajanna has been condemned to walk the plank. On the contrary, despite the controversies, internal and external, Rajanna remains entrenched in the Congress. Rajanna now supports Rahul Gandhi in Rahul’s every endeavour. INDIA bloc can go ahead and fight the BJP-ECI’s alleged “Vote Chori” with Rahul Gandhi’s genius.
The BJP believes it won the skirmish. Rajanna’s temporary “concern” was a setback for the Congress and victory of sorts for the BJP. But the BJP euphoria didn’t last long. Instead, there was KN Rajanna’s clarification: Our party high command, the president and general-secretary KC Venugopal have some misconceptions about me. I will go to New Delhi and clear the air.”
Rajanna said the Congress had failed to address lapses in the electoral rolls and went for the Congress jugular by stating that the party “should feel ashamed for the irregularities”, which was followed by the U-turn and the “all is clear” statement “whatever I may say, my commitment to the party high command is absolute. We will carry forward his (Rahul) agitation under his leadership.”
The brief challenge to Rahul Gandhi’s leadership was laid to rest by the MLA who had challenged Rahul Gandhi in the first place.
But the damage had been done. “When was the voter list prepared? It was prepared when our own government was in power. At that time, was everyone just sitting quietly with eyes closed? These irregularities did take place — that’s the truth. There is nothing false in this. These irregularities happened right in front of our eyes — we should feel ashamed,” Rajanna told the bitter truth. The “Congress kept quiet” and hasn’t cleared the air. It is not for nothing that the Congress in Karnataka is in a mess. (IPA Service)
