Two months after Rahul Gandhi’s resignation from the post of Congress president, many see the party drifting in the doldrums, with no successor in sight. The leadership vacuum at the top has had a damaging effect within the party, fuelling incessant media speculation and a daily dose of obituaries for the Congress, fuelled by recent setbacks in Karnataka and Goa.

In turn, the Congress worker, who has already had to contend with the disappointment of the 2019 Lok Sabha election results, risks further demoralisation. And the ordinary citizen and voter — nearly 20 per cent of the electorate — looks to the Congress to advance her political affiliations and convictions and feels let down.

Can’t write Congress off

In spite of all this, there is no reason to write off the Congress party. For one, there simply exists no other national alternative to the domination of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has a comparable pan-Indian presence. Any other political force in the country is largely confined to one (or at most two) states. Indian democracy also needs the inclusive vision embodied in the core ideology that animates the Congress party. But the party needs to offer a way forward to secure its own future, without any further delay.

For another, the current predicament is not completely a new challenge for the Congress. After all, the party has found itself in the throes of similar woes in the past — in terms of its electoral fortunes in 1977 and 1989, and the wilderness between 1996 and 2004, or in the daunting circumstances precipitated by the leadership question following the tragic assassinations of two of its leaders and former prime ministers. And yet, in the aftermath of each of these scenarios, the grand old party displayed an immense capacity to weather change, to pivot itself to the evolving political context of the time, and to bounce back to victory each time.

But in the face of the current crisis, what exactly should the party do to weather the turbulence?

Steps Congress can take 

One way forward could be for the Congress Working Committee — the party’s key decision-making body — to name an interim president and then ideally dissolve itself. After the election is done, the main leadership positions in the party, including in the CWC itself, should be opened up to fresh elections. Allowing members from the AICC and PCC delegates to elect their president from the group of people elected to these key positions, would help legitimise the incoming set of leaders and give them a credible mandate to lead the party.

It could also have other beneficial effects — for instance, it could increase the national interest in the party. We saw the global interest in the British Conservative Party during their recent leadership race. Replicating a similar scenario for the Congress will similarly galvanise more voters towards the Congress party once again.

Find the president

The most urgent leadership position that needs to be filled is naturally that of the Congress president. Given the current state of the party and the national picture, whoever assumes the mantle of the president will undoubtedly need to achieve the twin goals of energising the party worker and inspiring the voters. If the new president is purely an organisational person, while he or she may be able to galvanise the workers and strengthen the foundations of the party, the person may likely be unable to bri

Source: https://theprint.in/opinion/congress-can-create-national-interest-by-holding-elections-like-boris-jo