Congress young guns revolt against Rahul Gandhi's think tank

It's 12 noon, on May 20. Former Union Minister Sachin Pilot's Safdarjung Road bungalow wears a deserted look. Lines of plastic chairs adorn the lawn, but there is no visitor waiting to meet him. 



Inside, dressed in a purple T-shirt and black track pants, the 36-year-old Congress leader, who lost from Ajmer by a margin of 1.7 lakh votes, is engrossed in an animated discussion with a close political aide. He is deeply hurt at the drubbing that he and his party received in the 2014 polls but puts up a brave face saying he respects the public mandate and is gearing up for the immediate task at hand-to prepare the party for municipal and panchayat polls in Rajasthan due later this year. "I'm the party chief in the state; I take full responsibility. But we must move on. I have to motivate my workers. This is not the end." Later in the day, he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to chalk out a path to revival but refuses to divulge details.

But the former MP, who takes pride in his achievements, still can't explain his defeat. "In Ajmer, I got a new airport, 43 new trains, two new railway lines, one central university and a girls' college. It's the only district in India where every school has computer, printer, scanner and internet connection through satellite. It's also the first city to be declared slum-free," Pilot recounts what he has done for his constituency, rueing that all his achievements were swept away in the 'Modi wave'. He admits that it was tough for him to lead the party in the state after the disastrous Assembly election results in December 2013 when it got just 20 seats in the over 200-member Assembly. "I had very little time to manoeuvre anything," says Pilot, who was appointed Rajasthan Congress chief in February.

R P N SINGH Singh admits that Rahul Gandhi should have communicated more with voters. He is in favour of a complete restructuring of the party and CWC wherein leaders like Ajay Maken and Shashi Tharoor, who communicate well, are given bigger roles. And, he adds, the Congress must rid itself of NGO-wallahs. "A political party cannot be an NGO. It's fine to have people with degrees from best colleges, but if they don't have grassroots connect, they cannot be decision-makers. We must get rid of them."

He gives full credit to the BJP Prime Minister for "sustaining a well-orchestrated, well-managed and well-funded" campaign for such a long duration. He has best wishes for Modi and BJP and hopes he would lead India to better days. "He is the elected prime minister of India. He must be given respect and treated the way a prime minister deserves."

Pilot, however, believes that the biggest catalyst in this election was the outreach programme and ground work of RSS workers. "After 1977, this is the first time RSS has thrown its full weight behind a political campaign." For the nationwide wipeout of Congress, he blames three factors - "our leadership was not seen as decisive enough, there was a fatigue among voters who wanted change and so much negativity was built up against our party that it buried all our good work".

But Pilot refuses to delve deep when asked what he meant by leadership-is it the collective leadership of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh or of just Prime Minister Manmohan Singh? "Let's not get into specifics. At the moment, all I can say is that our party needs a complete revamp of organisational structure. There should be election to all party positions. The dead wood in the party must be thrown out immediately. People with grassroots support and mass contact must reach the top."

He has not lost hope and takes it as a temporary setback. "Between 1996 and 1999 we lost three elections in a row, yet we came back. Sankhyabal mat dekho, manobal dekho (Don't count our numbers, see the spirit)."

The same day, a day before flying out to Delhi, his party colleague and former minister Milind Deora posted a photograph of his guitar on Twitter saying: "In Delhi, packing-up my favorite belongings and saying goodbye to the rest. The unpredictable lives of MPs." Thirty-seven year old Deora plans to take a brief sabbatical before getting back to the dust and grind of politics. "I may go abroad. But certainly I will spend more time with my band Tight Rope. I also want to get involved in the business of music," he says.

Perhaps that could help him get over the defeat in the polls. He has no qualms in admitting that his party was swept away by the 'Modi wave'. "It was a vote for Modi. He showed leadership which our party could not project. Our leadership was seen as indecisive." He doesn't directly blame Rahul Gandhi for the debacle saying that the performance of a leader depends on the team he gets. "It's good to have people who are good at statistics and analysis, but they should not be allowed to take strategic decisions."

He believes that the way forward is radical restructuring of the organisation-right from Congress Working Committee (CWC) to district level. "There are many people in the party who need to be heard but were not given attention." Another big step, he says, would be revamping the communication cell and creating one which can actually establish a connect with the people. "We did a lot of work. But we could not take it to our voters. Look at how Modi has used communication tools."

Deora is ready for a bigger role in the party. "If the top leadership offers, I'm okay about taking up a bigger role in the party."

SACHIN PILOT It was a vote for Modi. He showed leadership which our party could not project. Our leadership was seen as indecisive. For the nationwide wipeout of Congress, he blames three factors-"our leadership was not seen as decisive enough, there was a fatigue among voters who wanted change and so much negativity was built up against our party that it buried all our good work".

Dressed in politicians' white, RPN Singh, 50, relaxes in the lawn of his Lodhi Estate bungalow. He assures his friends over phone that he is doing fine and inquires about a flat he wants to take on rent. His number of votes increased by over 75,000 since 2009, yet he lost by 85,000 votes from Kushi Nagar constituency. He has no regrets though. "Politics is like that. You are not always in power."

He attributes his loss to two factors-the omnipresence of Narendra Modi and misrule of Samajwadi Party. "From 3D to internet to LED screens, Modi used technology in the best possible way to directly reach out to people. He was everywhere, even in remote villages, people were listening to Modi."

The royal scion believes that Samajwadi Party's constant pandering to Muslims without actually doing anything for them resulted in an unprecedented polarisation of Hindu votes in Uttar Pradesh. "BJP captured this resentment well and the united Hindu votes resulted in 71 seats for BJP."

He believes that the Congress leadership is in a state of transition whereas BJP has completed the transition from the Vajpayee-Advani era to Modi era. "The 2014 Lok Sabha elections caught the party in the middle of this transition. Once the transition is settled under Rahul Gandhi, Congress is set for an upward journey. During the transition, all his decisions were not implemented. Now is the time for the big push."

ASHOK TANWAR "We badly handled 2G and CWG scams, Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal's agitations and angry protests seeking justice for the December 16 Delhi gang-rape victim."

Singh admits that Rahul Gandhi should have communicated more with voters. He is in favour of a complete restructuring of the party and CWC wherein leaders like Ajay Maken and Shashi Tharoor, who communicate well, are given bigger roles. And, he adds, the Congress must rid itself of NGO-wallahs. "A political party cannot be an NGO. It's fine to have people with degrees from best colleges, but if they don't have grassroots connect, they cannot be decision-makers. We must get rid of them."

Singh admits that Modi has redefined the political discourse in the country, saying he was smart enough to understand the mind of the aspirational voters of new and young India and made noises that were relevant to them. "The Congress must learn quickly and adapt to the changed environment," he says. However, he refuses to put the blame on the Gandhis, saying they are indispensable. "They are the unifying factor for the party."

Agrees 38-year-old Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar. "It's easy to find faults. But the fact remains that Rahul Gandhi has created opportunities for young leaders like us. He will lead us to another victory." Tanwar has little time to shed tears over his defeat. In his MP flat at North Avenue, people are still pouring in and Tanwar goes into a huddle with his aides in the drawing room. "The Assembly polls are just few months away. Where is the time to analyse what went wrong? We have a task at hand," he says.

Probe him a little further and he opens up. The former Youth Congress leader believes his party's communication department failed in taking the message to the voters. Though the Congress implemented several welfare schemes, these were not advertised well. "The benefits of several Central government schemes did not reach the target beneficiaries because adequate awareness was not created."

MILIND DEORA: "It's good to have people who are good at statistics and analysis, but they should not be allowed to take strategic decisions."

For his own defeat, Tanwar blames groupism within the party. "I did not get cooperation from all corners." But what did the party in, he says, was the poor handling of scams and social issues. " We badly handled 2G and CWG scams, Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal's agitations and angry protests seeking justice for the December 16 Delhi gang-rape victim."