Even as the BJP celebrates its victory both in the state and at the Centre, the Congress party is facing a huge question mark over its future. The party has been badly defeated in Arunachal Pradesh in the assembly election. It lost badly in the parliamentary election also. Such has been the nature of the defeat that Congress president Rahul Gandhi offered to resign during the Congress Working Committee meeting. Despite party leaders not accepting his resignation, it is believed that he is firm on his decision. It will be interesting to see how this move plays out in the days to come. The Congress has been always led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. It is the glue which keeps the party together.
If indeed Rahul Gandhi sticks to his decision to quit, it will be a turning point in the history of the grand old party. Perhaps this may be a blessing in disguise for the party to move beyond the Gandhi family. It is an opportunity to shed its ‘dynasty’ tag and rediscover the party. The BJP has effectively managed to portray the Congress as a party of dynasts, though the saffron party itself has several dynastic politicians within its ranks. After 2014, this is the second election in which the Congress has badly lost to the BJP. The 2019 result is a bigger setback than the one of 2014. The time for introspection is over; now the Congress has to chalk out a long-term strategy to take the party forward. With the formidable duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah at the helm of affairs, the BJP will not provide any opportunity of revival to the Congress. It will make it very difficult for the Congress to exist, with its slogan of a ‘Congress-free India’. This is a battle of survival, and if the grand old party fails to act urgently, the Congress will fade away in the history of India. In Arunachal Pradesh too, the party’s state leadership should take moral responsibility and immediately step down. Let the new generation leaders take over the party in the state.