Farooq Abdullah's wake-up call for Cong: Not possible to 'save India' by sitting at home

In a scathing indictment of the sagging fortune of Congress, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah alleged that the Sonia Gandhi-led party had become weak. This assumes significance as Congress has continued to registered losses in multiple state elections and Lok Sabha polls since the Modi government assumed office at the Centre for the first time in 2014. Not only was NC an ally of Congress in the recent past but also its chief Farooq Abdullah served as a Union Minister in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.

Making an "honest" admission, he opined that Congress will have to "wake up" to save the country. Moreover, he urged them to focus on resolving the issues faced by the citizens. In a veiled dig at Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi's infrequent public engagements, the Lok Sabha MP made it clear that the party's revival is not possible until its leaders keep sitting at home. 

Cracks within Congress

In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi on August 23, 2020, 23 senior party leaders observed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. The letter reportedly mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival. Despite the high-octane drama at the CWC meeting, it was decided that the Rae Bareli MP will continue as the interim president at least until the next AICC session is convened.

But the concerns were reiterated by Congress leaders such as Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad after the loss in the Bihar Assembly election. Far from addressing concerns, the CWC in January stated that the election to the post of party president will be held only after the conclusion of the Assembly polls in Assam, Puducherry, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The internal rift in the party widened after dissenting leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Raj Babbar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari addressed a joint rally in Jammu on February 27.

On this platform, concerns were raised about the weakening of the Congress party. Moreover, Azad faced protests from the Congress cadre for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a gesture perceived as an outreach to the G23 leaders, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari was included in the list of star campaigners for the third phase of the West Bengal Assembly election a day earlier.