New Delhi, March 30: The Congress leadership is getting feedback that its sustained efforts to make the “politics of intolerance and communalism” the main ingredient of the election discourse has not succeeded so far.
The Congress has rolled out a Narendra Modi-centric campaign, focusing on India’s pluralistic cultural ethos. But the party’s assessment now is that Modi and his “development agenda” has struck a chord among many voters, particularly the youth.
The Congress leadership is perplexed why people of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi refused to attach any significance to the impressive track record of the Manmohan Singh government both in terms of “revolutionary” legislative measures and social sector investments while believing the “manufactured” narrative on the Gujarat model without any critical analysis.
The inability to counter the negative propaganda has been identified as a debilitating weakness although no remedy has been found.
Congress sources feel that the top leadership should speak regularly as spokespersons are not being given due importance. One key strategist told The Telegraph: “Leaders like P. Chidambaram, Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh, who are not fighting the elections, should talk daily and confront the falsehood. Even Prime minister Manmohan Singh should speak weekly to dispel the false impression being created about his government, apart from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul who have been talking now.”
Releasing the manifesto a few days ago, Sonia had said: “I believe, this election will not be about just programmes, policies or the economy. This election is to keep the constitutional fabric of the country intact. It is the time to fight to protect our rich tradition of unity in diversity. We will fight for unity, not for uniformity. We will have fight to protect an ideology that unites us, which does not make people fight against each other.”
For the first time, the manifesto made indirect references to Modi’s politics, stressing that no single individual can solve all the problems.
Addressing a public rally in Delhi today, Sonia focused on the same theme, saying that India’s pluralistic culture was more valuable than power. “Some forces trying to grab power at present would lead India to destruction and darkness,” she said.
Sonia went on to explain that patriotism should be viewed in the toil of the common man, the bravery of the soldiers and the sacrifice of our leaders instead of the lofty words being used at rallies now. She said those who did not understand the value of secularism and pluralism were incapable of being patriotic. This was the harshest ideological attack she has made yet while avoiding any personal criticism.
