US President Joe Biden (L), US Vice President Kamala Harris (R)
Credit: Reuters Photo
As the United States witnesses a new realignment after the Obama “coalition of the ascendant” lies in shambles, this is a time of reckoning for the Democrats. However, the recent defeat of Kamala Harris in the presidential poll has valuable lessons for the Congress party in India. There are obvious and significant differences between the US and India – US’ two-party system is in sharp contrast with India’s multiparty democracy and the personalities of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi are distinct. Further, Congress is not the crippled party it was a year ago. It has made a comeback in this year’s general election and earned new confidence with electoral wins in states. It may seem unfair to compare it with the Democrats who have lost the Presidency, the House, and the Senate.
Key lessons
Yet, three facts should prevent Congress from slipping into complacency. First, it has only improved marginally in 2024 when compared to 2019 and has failed to make any significant dent in BJP’s vote base. Second, much of Congress’ success was dependent on rallying allies and their performance. Without the spectacular SP performance in UP, Congress – with a double-digit MP count for the third consecutive time – would not be as robust an Opposition. Third, personalities matter in elections and a decade into the Modi era, doubts remain on who the Congress has to offer as a leader.
The Democrats ran a short campaign that was vague on policies and completely sidestepped the unpopularity of the dispensation. Their war cry was just that a Trump Presidency would lead to the collapse of democracy or end the autonomy of women over their bodies. I will not contest that these are total falsities but political parties still need to earn the people’s vote; crucially, the vote of a multi-racial working class, voters without a college degree, and the Arab-American vote in crucial swing states like Michigan. The Democrats lost all three. It is not sufficient to simply suggest that this, or any election, is a vote to save the country from a fascist, as Harris suggested, or for the ‘soul of the Constitution’. The latter phrase, in particular, was repeated in India’s 2019 and 2024 elections. But for one, voters also have other concerns – primarily the economy which was a central issue in both India and the US this year.
Second, democratic structures are much more complicated than slogans. In the US, the abortion issue was independently on the ballot of ten states, several of whom both voted for Trump and for constitutionalising and thereby, strengthening abortion protection. In India, similar complexity is seen in how voters support one party at the state level and another at the Union level. Third, it is a strange strategy, for any party, to try to win over people’s affections by the subtle threat of “vote for us, or else”.
The candidate counts
It is vital to have the right candidate as the face of the right side of history. There has been a sobering realisation among American commentators that Vice President Harris was not the right candidate. There were no primaries to test her electability. She was deeply unpopular in the 2020 primaries that she did contest briefly but withdrew before the polls. Some of her key policies such as a price gouging ban were, at best, vague and at worst, inflationary. What Harris did have were the right connections within the Democrat establishment and liberal media that got her this far. Discerning readers could draw parallels with a certain Indian politician who too is blessed with pedigree but has very little experience in actually having his face on the ballot of a diverse electorate or in offering a coherent set of policies.
Crucially, the Democratic Party and Congress need to be imaginative in re-populating their constituencies and articulating their plan for the country. Bernie Sanders, forever the Democrats’ contrarian conscience-keeper, is right to highlight that the party has lost its working-class roots. Similarly, the flight of the aspirational middle class from Congress to BJP in 2014 continues. Not too long ago, these voter classes were parts of the core constituents of the Democratic Party and Congress, respectively. The Democrats’ pitch as guardians of American values has failed – twice now. In India, while voters may have cut BJP to size in 2024, it should be underlined that they still trust BJP enough to elect them for the third time in a row. There is a gap in directing votes as a vote against Trump or Modi to a vote for the Democrats or Congress. Whether either party chooses to introspect and course-correct remains an open question.
(The writer is a fourth-year BA LLB student at National Law School India University, Bengaluru)