The Indian National Congress party was the first and largest political party in India. It was founded in 1885 in Bombay by A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant, to provide a platform for an educated elite that could represent the country at large.
Congress’s success can be attributed to its ability to adapt to the changing needs of society and its willingness to take on new members as it grew. It is not easy for any government to keep up with the demands of a fast-changing society, especially when it has been in power for decades, but Congress has failed spectacularly at this task.
Congress has been a major player in Indian politics since its inception. The party has ruled India for most of its independent history. However, in the recent years, Congress and its leaders have been criticized for their failure to provide a strong opposition to the BJP.
This article will mainly focus on the reasons behind Congress’s inability to provide an effective opposition to BJP and how it can be countered.
The Congress Party has been facing a crisis in the last few years, but it is still unable to provide an effective opposition to the BJP government. The main reason behind this fall of Congress are stated below:
1) The 'Old Guard' who have been in power for decades and have failed to deliver on their promises. They also have a very poor understanding of modern Indian politics and are therefore unable to understand how to counter Modi's campaign effectively. The old guard currently hold almost all the positions of power within Congress, including those of Prime Ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi and leadership of state governments such as Maharashtra or Karnataka where elections are due next year. They do not want these posts vacated by young leaders because they fear losing control over them as well as keeping them out of sight so that they can continue doing what they always do -control things from behind closed doors.
2) The younger generation of leaders who have grown up in a time when India was moving towards globalisation, liberalisation and economic reforms. They are more open-minded and willing to learn from other countries, which means they are more likely to understand what needs to be done in order to counter Modi's campaign effectively.
3) 3rdreason for Congress’s inability to provide an effective opposition is its lack of leadership. The party’s leadership suffers from a weak link – Rahul Gandhi. During his tenure as the party president, he showed that he lacked leadership skills and was unable to lead a team. He could neither manage his own party nor successfully campaign against Modi during the 2014 elections. Now he is holding on to power as the vice-president, but does not have enough authority or experience to take on Modi single handedly.
4) Another reason for Congress’s failure at providing an effective opposition is its lack of organization and communication strategy. While BJP is highly organized and well funded, Congress lacks both these things which makes it difficult for them to fight against BJP effectively. The only way they can counter BJP is by forming alliances with other parties but this will not work unless they improve their communication strategy.
5) Lastly, Congress often forgets that it is actually a political party which needs to have a clear agenda in order to be successful. Instead of working together with other parties, they end up fighting against each other instead of working together towards the common goal of democracy and progress.
