JAIPUR: With the Lok Sabha polls just a little more than a year away, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday said party's revival in weak states should not be compromised at the altar of alliance politics.
In a candid admission in her opening speech at the 2-day "chintan shivir" (brainstorming conclave) that Congress was facing "increased competition and inroads" into its traditional base, she said "unity and discipline" was the need of the hour in the party.
She formed five separate groups, including one on "emerging political challenges" headed by AK Antony in which P Chidamaram is a participant, for deeper discussion.
Ahead of the start of the start of the conclave, there was a clamour from senior leaders for Rahul Gandhi to play a larger role in the organization.
Seeking "free, fearless and frank views" from the participants, Gandhi surprisingly made a reference to the "growing educated and middle classes", an apparent message to the party to woo them.
Gandhi, who is also the chairperson of UPA, made it clear that Congress has to "strike a balance" between respecting alliances where it has tied up with other parties and "ensuring that the party's rejuvenation is not compromised".
"In states in which we are in alliance we have to strike a balance between respecting these alliances and ensuring that the party's rejuvenation is not not compromised," Gandhi said.
"We must admit that we now face increased competition and inroads have been made into our traditional support bases. There are some states, where we have been out of power for too long and, although I too believe that being in power is not the sole purpose of political activities, this does have an adverse impact on our morale and organization ability," she said.
Gandhi's remarks on rejuvenation of the party has come at a time when nine assembly elections are scheduled during the current year, which will be followed by Lok Sabha polls in the middle of 2014.
The Congress had lost power in major states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu for several years. In West Bengal, it was out of power for more than three decades though it was in the ministry of Mamata Banerjee for a brief while. It is more than four decades since it lost power in Tamil Nadu.
In her speech, the Congress president did not take the name of any political party, including the BJP, or the recent electoral defeat in Gujarat.
Reflecting his growing influence and stature in the party, the conclave saw praise for Rahul Gandhi from senior leaders including Ambika Soni, who said the meet would get a "message" from the young leader.
On Rahul insistence, a lion's share has been given to Youth Congress and NSUI office-bearers at the strategy meet for participation.
Leaders including Digivijaya Singh, Rajiv Shukla and Salman Khurshid, sought a "larger and predominant role" for Rahul. Sachin Pilot, however, felt that the young leader should not be pressurized.
In her five-page speech, Gandhi's stress was on the party to get its act together.
Turning to "pressing organizational matters", she posed the question "Is it not the case that we have squandered many opportunities that people are willing to give us simply because we have been unable to function as a disciplined and united team".
Urging the party workers to recognize the new changing India, the Congress president pointed out the country was increasingly peopled by a "younger, more aspirational, more impatient, more demanding and better educated generation.
"Our youth is is getting more assertive. It wants its voice to be heard. Across the length and breadth of our country, our people are expecting much more from their political parties," she said calling for continued responses from the party and the government to the menace of corruption.
"Our citizens are rightly fed up with the levels of corruption that they see in public life at high levels, but equally with the corruption they have to deal with in their daily lives. This is a phenomenon, a churning that we must understand and continue to respond to."
Her remarks come against the backdrop of the UPA government and Congress repeatedly coming under attack by a section of civil society and others over the issue of black money and corruption.
Gandhi also utilized the occasion to launch a scathing attack on "our life styles".
"And seeing so many of our younger colleagues here, I am tempted to say something on a subject that has always bothered me . And this relates to our lifestyle. Celebrating weddings, festivals and happy events is one thing- but what of lavish and ostentatious displays of wealth, pomp and status?
"Does this not beg the question where is this wealth coming from. I hope that you will take this seriously and come up with suggestions and norms that we may all accept and adhere to," she said.
While noting that inclusiveness is anchored in the conviction of Congress and not a political ploy only to win elections or run governments, Gandhi said, "it is not the outcome of any compulsion as it may be of some of our political opponents".
"We appeal to all sections of society. We articulate and champion the concerns of all but especially of the weaker sections — dalits, adivasis, minorities and women. We have always given the highest priority to the interests and concerns of farmers and agricultural labourers.
Claiming that Congress is the only party, which believes that development and economic growth on one hand, and social harmony and social justice on the other, are two sides of the same coin.
"Economic growth over the past decade has been impressive. This has had a major impact on reducing poverty. But our fight against inequality and poverty is a continuing one. This is why it is important to sustain our poverty alleviation programmes," she said.
This is the first such conclave, which has seen the presence of such a large number of young leaders especially those from the Youth wings of the party.
Flagging this "special dimension" of the conclave, Sonia Gandhi said that the fact that a significant number of participants are from the younger generation "reflects our priorities and resonates with the demographic reality of our country".
Noting that this interaction is different in at least two aspects from the previous sessions in Pachmarhi and Shimla, Gandhi said that it is taking place at a time when the party has been in government at the Centre for almost nine years and also at a time "when we are not governing in a number of states and when we face serious challenges in states long considered our bastions".
At the brainstorming session, a major concern for Congress is the rise of regional parties in various states where the Congress is out of power.
The immediate concern for Congress is the rise of Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh, the only major state where Congress is in power on its own. The separate Telangana issue has made the situation more complex for the party in Andhra Pradesh.
The southern state is strategically important for Congress given the fact that spectacular victory in Andhra Pradesh in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha polls had been the gamechanger for UPA.
The Congress president, however, sought to dispel pessimism. She said, "We are the only pan-Indian party, the only political party, with a visible and vibrant position in every village, in every basti, in every mohalla of the country".
