Indian National Congress has been facing a hard time since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. New problems keep surfacing for the Congress party before and after every state election. Lack of proper leadership at the national and state level owing to lack of knowledge and experience of party President Rahul Gandhi have added to their woes. The party is facing a grave issue and Rahul Gandhi is too ill-equipped to comprehend the enormity of the problem. He realizes the threat from PM Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but it would be too great a task for him to identify what the Congress is really lacking. A lack of connect with the common people of Karnataka, who are enraged with the divisive politics being played by Congress in the pre-polls season, has further heightened the worries of the senior leaders. With just a few days left before the end of campaigning in the state, the desperate Congress leaders have decided to rope in ex-Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the anti-Congress wave in Karnataka has left Congress with no choice. Sonia Gandhi seems to be the only hope for Congress leaders who fear the party may lose one of the last three states they hold power in.
Every political party uses its senior leaders in the pre-poll campaigns; there is nothing new in this. What is different in the present case though is that she is returning to campaign after a gap of two years. The Bijapur rally in which Sonia Gandhi will campaign today will be her first rally appearance after she fell ill during a road show in Varanasi on August 2, 2016. Sonia Gandhi did not take part in any campaigns held since then. Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland all slipped away from the hands of Congress and its allies during this time. The two year gap and its horrifying memories have come back to haunt Congress leaders as the results of the poll surveys conducted in Karnataka are in BJP’s favour. Jan Ki Baat survey has predicted a huge win for the BJP in Karnataka, while several other surveys have also predicted Congress’ loss. The rallies of Congress President Rahul Gandhi have failed to stir public opinion in their favour. On the other hand, PM Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath have been able to connect with the people of Karnataka by identifying the key issues of relevance among its people.
Sonia Gandhi being called for campaigning is a massive letdown for the incumbent Siddaramaiah, as it was the Karnataka Chief Minister who had earlier accused BJP Karnataka of relying on “North Indian imports”. The hypocrisy of Siddaramaiah and Congress once it failed to divide Kannadigas on the basis of a xenophobic ‘North-South divide’ has been exposed by this desperate bid to bring in Sonia Gandhi. The North-South rhetoric in a country like India, which prides itself on its cultural diversity, is one of the dirtiest tricks the Congress has played in the recent past, even for their own standards. Kannadigas, however, seem to have seen through the inflammatory and divisive practices of the Grand Old Party.
Sonia Gandhi is no show-stopper, and is expected to face difficulties in stopping the Modi wave that has blown throughout the subcontinent in the last 4 years. Her campaigns, however, could help the Congress in saving some face in Karnataka where anti-incumbency and anti-Congress sentiments are at an all time high. Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah have failed miserably in countering the attacks of PM Modi and the BJP, and the battle could well be beyond saving. Although Sonia Gandhi will be arriving in Bijapur today, she may just realise upon her arrival that she is fighting for a lost cause.