Sycophancy Kills

The recent debacle of the Congress party in the state elections reminds only one fact that when people get closer to reality, no amount of false promises however resounding can garner votes. Given the high decibel pre-poll campaigns executed singularly by Rahul Gandhi and sparingly by Priyanka in UP, the political sycophants in the Congress party thought the magic of dynasty can work wonder even in extreme situations, but they were absolutely wrong in internalizing this gravest blunder. The world is changing fast, so is the people perception. In democracy, decisions of the supreme head are even subject to deliberations and change. But the old-fashioned Congress party which still basks in the lost glory believes in dynastic culture which has no relevance in a democracy. What's more devastating for the party now is that some diehard sycophants still underplay the reality and misguide the party chief by convincing her that all is well in this “yes boss” culture. And to a large extent the acceptance of sycophancy in the party cadre has reduced it to ashes.

If one analyzes the political campaigns of Congress vis-a-vis its success in UP, it won't be incorrect to theorize the notion that Rahul was far from the ground realities and he was carried away by the wrong advices of senior leaders of the party. The most funny element of the campaign was projecting Sam Pitroda as the mascot for weaker sections of society to woo the voters of that community. An individual success can't be generalized in such a gross way. How many people in UP know Sam, his closeness to Rajiv Gandhi and his global achievements in the field of telecommunications? Perhaps, the top one percent of the highest echelon of society even doesn't know him, forget about the masses who are reeling under the anathema of poverty and don't yet know anything beyond the necessity of “roti, kapda aur makan”. The charm of technology only catches them who enjoy the luxury of life.

More importantly, the Congress as a national political party has been drifting away from the regional issues in last two decades when regional parties got closer to the grassroots. What's the net understanding of Congress about state issues is a filtered version of scripted story concocted by few sycophants, and this in long run has proved to be dangerous for the party. Now is the high time for Rahul Gandhi to break the shackles of sycophants and pull up his socks to establish the party structure across the states in the first place. Next he should go deeper into the complex political dynamics of the states and the centre to devise a unique winning strategy even without the help of sycophants. If he doesn't overhaul the party strategy and delegate responsibilities with clearly articulated accountability to state and central leaders of the party, the 2014 general elections will be a huge disaster for the Congress. Mr Gandhi, are you listening?