By Nirendra Dev
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, Nov 12 (UNI) The Congress party, which lost power in Madhya Pradesh 15 years ago, is determined this time to win the elections and seize once more the power it enjoyed.
But the challenges are multi-pronged and among them the principal hurdle is infighting and a perceived 'insincerity' of the Congress foot soldiers.
"Our party office in Gwalior gives a deserted look. No worker comes here. The Congress party has been overshadowed by 'Kamal-chhap (with ideological tilt towards BJP)' Congress leaders and workers," laments a senior office bearer on the condition of anonymity.
"Just on the eve of elections, hundreds of youth joined Congress and now they want to dominate everything," he says.
Several senior leaders and workers - who have been associated with the party for last 3-4 decades - have been forgotten, he alleges.
A few others sitting on a shadowy room endorse such pessimistic statement. Others speak vaguely and say perhaps the Congress party is giving away the prospects of winning an election which even a month back looked very much within Congress grip.
Even a section of Congress supporters seem to agree to such gloomy painting. "In most cases, I hear the Congress party has unable to select capable candidates. For Gwalior city, however Pradyumn Singh Tomar has a good chance," says 81-year-old Congress supporter Jamaluddin Khan, a trader.
Mr Khan also says that the Congress party workers are hardly seen campaigning even in Muslim pockets.
"Congress workers are a lazy lot. I fail to understand, where is their enthusiasm. Elections require hard work," he says, adding rather angrily, "Yeh log rahte toh Congress desh ko Azad nahi kara pata (Had this generation of Congress workers were present during British rule, perhaps India would not have attained freedom)".
Sources in Congress office say there are 42,000 'registered members' in Gwalior city alone but no one comes to office.
There is no much enthusiasm even to come and pick up campaign materials like posters and other stuff.
Apparently, most of these are managed by the candidates from their homes - a sharp contrast picture with BJP office, they say.
"We will certainly face problems in booth management especially given the situation wherein BJP has one booth level worker for every 50-60 voters," says a Congress office bearer.
According to Bhagwan Singh Yadav, a former Minister and a prominent face, who was denied ticket from Gwalior South - most of the decisions related to Congress party's electioneering in Gwalior region is decided by Jyotiraditya Scindia, certainly a chief ministerial aspirant.
But he too laments that things are "not going in proper shape".
"We had all the chances of winning 4-5 seats from Gwalior region which has three urban and three rural seats. But wrong selection of candidates will damage our chances," he says.
However, Congress office secretary (in charge of media coordination) Raj Kumar Sharma, 72 says, "It will be erroneous to dismiss Congress as a house not in order. Things are definitely under control and we are winning all three Gwalior urban seats".
He says most of the 'dark pictures' are being painted by frustrated lot in the rank and file and also a few 'inherently prophets of doom'.
"There is a new life in the Congress workers under dynamic leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia. We will do well in this region," he says.
But some skepticism still remains. Despite disillusionment abut the incumbent government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, some Congress workers admit the BJP has advantages in Madhya Pradesh as Congress has no strong network.
But, some voters, according to a shop keeper Abdul Mia, must be be looking for change from the BJP.
A Congress worker, Kripashankar Dubey says, "The BJP's biggest challenge is seen as coming from
upper-caste Hindus, its traditional support base. This section is alienated from BJP after Narendra Modi's government supported a law they see as "biased and unlawful" in favour of the lower-caste
people.
What Congress really needs is to tap these potential voters, agrees Abdul Mia.
Several others agree. The euphoria needs to be backed by sincerity and hard work with effective electoral strategy, only then the anti-incumbency mood can get converted into votes, they say.
UNI DEVN RSA 1507