The Nehru Gandhi family is synonymous to Indian politics and fortunately or unfortunately, they will remain so for a long time. With all the negativity spread around the UPA-2, they do boast some of the best leaders we’ve had in contemporary Indian history. Erstwhile PMs from the congress party other than the Gandhi bloodline have however failed to command that level of involvement both within the party and in general, Indian politics.
Congress lead alliances have been in the center for an astonishing 55 years out of the 68 years we have been independent. It’s hard to believe that the first non-congress government to complete a full term came in 1999 under the leadership of Vajpayee, who as a matter of fact lead a coalition of 23 parties. Out of the 55 years of congress rule, in only 17 years has the government had a non-Nehru head. If you consider the previous government, we all know that Sonia Gandhi was effectively running India’s affairs, that number drops down to a lowly 7. Moreover, out of all the governments we’ve had since independence, the only non-Nehru prime minister to complete a full term are P Narasimha Rao, AB Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. Narendra Modi will soon be join this club. As fate would have it, Narasimha Rao would eventually end up facing the wrath of the Gandhi family soon after he vacated his office.
The party has a very good grass root network and has been present in literally every election that happens in India. That’s the reason why congress as a party will never be eradicated. It’s a pervasive organization built over decades. It took another party more than 20 years to win one general election in a situation where congress lacked able leadership. But does that mean that Indian public in general is pro-congress? Not any more.
The fate of congress went for a toss during the UPA-2 regime partly because of Modi and partly because of the media's shenanigans about scams and what not. For a moment I would like to point out that the media generally is pro-congress but the ordeals of the last few years have proved otherwise. The last congress rule has been marred by scams, power struggle, unceremonious exclusions and media interventions. This lead to an anti-incumbency feeling amongst the general public, something the congress party has experienced before while contriving emergency. Their current situation however, is something they have never experienced before. Never has the congress party been annihilated so badly and forced to bite the dust. Their reaction and change in stance is something that will be very interesting to see in the coming years.
The only good thing about their future is that there is no dilemma about their party leader. Rahul Gandhi has reinvented himself and is now in the driving seat.
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