Grand Young Party

It is no secret that multi-billion dollar scams and scandals, a game-changing anti-graft people's movement and a belligerent opposition have dealt a body blow to not just the stumbling UPA II but also the grand old party of Indian politics. It is also quite evident that every action of the government and its flag bearers now is aimed at restoring the credibility of the government and the Congress – and also somehow polish the halo around son-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi into active politics – before the crucial 2014 general elections.

The much-awaited cabinet reshuffle – which was inadvertently getting postponed for the last six months – is clearly another step in the same direction. In what can easily be deciphered as an imprint of Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi inducted several younger faces amid the 22 new ministers. But ground realities, in the run up to 2014 were also given importance as was visible from the seats given away to electorally crucial states such as West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi of course denies that the reshuffle has any relation to upcoming general elections. "The expansion was being postponed from such a long time that many ministers were handling multiple portfolios. This is the only reason that necessitated the cabinet reshuffle," he says.

While Dwivedi has a point, the picture he paints is incomplete. The induction of new ministers in key portfolios such as foreign affairs, petroleum, power and mining, is so obviously a last-ditch gambit to breathe life into the scam-hit government. Likewise, the removal of Ambika Soni, SM Krishna, Mukul Wasnik and Subodh Kant Sahai from the government machinary is clearly in preparation of inducting them into the party organisation with an eye on the elections. Those in the know believe that efforts are on to enlist Krishna, Wasnik and Sahai as future party leaders from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Jharkhand respectively, while Soni will be responsible for drafting Congress' electoral strategy in the central party organisation. In a bid to counter Jagan Reddy in Andhra, about half a dozen ministers from the state have been accomodated into the Council of Ministers. Three West Bengal Congress leaders and known Mamata Banerjee baiters have also found a place in the government.

That the cabinet reshuffle was the last big performance of a three-year old orchestra which was belting out stale melodies is evident from the fact that lobbying by senior party leaders such as ML Fotedar, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, BK Hari Prasad and Captain Satish Sharma for a place in the government fell on deaf ears. Sources say that in all the three high-powered CWC meetings in the run up to the reshuffle, the key criteria for selecting potential candidates was his future utility for the party and his adaptability to Rahul Gandhi's imminent leadership.

Members of Congress' Opportunity Between Challenges committee – formed to strategise on Rahul's future role – believed that there were only two gaping holes in the party's organisational structure. One: lack of a second line in leadership and the other of weak decision-making. Young leaders who have been working closely with Rahul Gandhi such as MM Pallam Raju, Ajay Maken, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and Bhanwar Jitendra Singh getting key portfolios in the reshuffle is a clear pointer towards which way the scales are tilted.

With less than two years left to the general elections, all eyes are now on the impending overhaul of the Congress party where Rahul is expected to finally take charge and etch his individual insignia on the future of the party. It is obvious that every day from hereon in the run up to 2014 is crucial. Congress sources reveal that Sonia Gandhi has all but dictated that the UPA government should give its 'best delivery' for the next 18 months while Rahul Gandhi – to be elevated to the post of secretary general – will ensure that the organisation is geared up adequately for the 2014 challenge.

Congress sources inform that the designation of secretary general for the Gandhi scion has been proposed so that all general secretaries of the party may report to him. All state units of the party have been briefed to take up key local issues and present the policies of the central government appropriately and effectively. State units have also been instructed to present a weekly report to the central leadership about the electoral situation in their state. Rahul and other central ministers will accordingly plan their campaign program for respective states.

Apart from allegations of corruption on its key leaders, the faltering economy is a key irritant towards 2014 for the UPA government. GDP growth at 6.3 per cent in FY12 has been the worst in nine years and spiralling food inflation over the last two years has resulted in an increasingly angry middle class disappointed by the government's handling of the crisis. Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia have been made responsible for improving growth figures. UPA II hopes that the duo will ensure reduced burden of taxes on the common man in its last two budgets before elections.

The message that has been sent across the Congress is simple: Rahul is merely the symbol of the new and resurgent Congress; for mission 2014 to be accomplished, the youth must necessarily play a more proactive role. A direct fallout is that the old guard is almost ready to hang up its boots. Older and experienced leaders have resigned to their new advisory and mentoring role while the new kids on the block dictate on their turf. It is believed that under the new order, information from various sources will be made available to Rahul. The Opportunity Between Challenges committee will review them and recommendations will be sent to the core committee to facilitate faster decision making.

Whether or not the grand old party will be successful in its apparent bid to refurbish the image of the ruling coalition as a progressive, younger and forward-looking entity remains in the realm of conjecture. But one immediate impact of the generational shift in the Congress is already quite visible. Leaders, both young and old, are in a race to become computer savvy. If they have to work with Rahul, internet and emails are clearly the way to go. Sources in the party say that the Gandhi scion often sends quick instructions on email. But the 2014 billion Rupee question is: Can Rahul transform instant e-mails into durable e(electoral)-gains?

pramod.kumar@thesundayindian.com