These are busy times for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. The 81-year-old is spending hours trying to hammer a truce in Rajasthan, strategise poll-bound states, prepare for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and keep Opposition unity on top priority.
Kharge was a revelation of sorts to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot when he met them along with Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal, S S Randhawa, Kamal Nath, Jai Prakash Aggarwal, and others on May 29. He was business like, off and on terse, compassionate, and even-handed.
Post-Karnataka, Kharge's bond with Rahul Gandhi is somewhat like the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi equation rooted in unquestionable loyalty and unfailing faith in judgement. For example, when Pilot and Gehlot empowered Rahul Gandhi to take a call on Rajasthan, the Gandhi scion was quick to pass it on to Kharge saying he had full faith in Congress President’s ability to impart justice while protecting Congress’ interest.
All eyes are now on Kharge regarding the fate of the Congress in Rajasthan. Kharge has several options, but, sources say, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha wants both Gehlot and Pilot to be on board. He is actively considering to appoint Pilot as Rajasthan State Congress Chief provided Gehlot welcomes Pilot.
In Kharge's scheme of things, Pilot is an asset whose utility spreads beyond Rajasthan. While Pilot seems interested in the home state, Kharge has urged him to consider a role outside Rajasthan. The Congress leadership is keen to set up a department for election management (a recommendation given by poll strategist Prashant Kishor). Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is Kharge's first choice, but party sources say Pilot can team up with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in an all-important, make-or-break task for 2024.
The Congress is also looking for a new general secretary in-charge of organisation, a post that Venugopal has been holding for years now. If Venugopal is given charge of Maharashtra where Congress is aiming to win in 2024 in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Randeep Surjewala and Pilot are reportedly under Kharge's consideration.
The Congress communication department, currently consisting of Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Supriya Shrinate is also tipped for some changes. The disquiet in the communication wing has become so glaring that the top office bearers are reportedly not even on talking terms while they continue to perform their roles in a professional manner.
Kharge is focusing on Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. The search is on for a new general secretary for Madhya Pradesh, which is currently being looked after by Aggarwal. Kharge who is keen to draft some leaders from the erstwhile G23 group into the Congress Working Committee and AICC secretariat, wants to utilise the services of Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tiwari, Anand Sharma, Prithviraj Chavan, among others.
Shimla is tipped to be the venue of a high-level meeting of the leaders from the Opposition sometime in the latter part of June. Some meetings are also likely to take place in Patna and Delhi, but in the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, Kharge plans to have a massive show of strength. In 2003, it was a Congress meet in Shimla that set the tone for the 2004 Opposition unity, coalition offer, and ultimately the formation of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Kharge not only has a sense of history but also anticipates that 2023 would pave the way for 2024 just like 2003 Shimla led to the coalition government in 2004.
Is this nostalgia, wishful thinking, or a prediction?
(Rasheed Kidwai is an author and journalist.)
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH