Congress in Gujarat: Too many cooks spoil the broth

The announcement of a jumbo team of working presidents in Gujarat by the Congress appears more of an appeasement move than any serious attempt to dislodge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is ruling the state for the last 27 years.

The assembly elections are barely five months away and the Congress is still struggling to keep its house in order.

In fact, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is going to fight its debut election in Gujarat, is better organised than the Congress and has succeeded in creating a buzz around its poll campaign.

On July 7, Congress president Sonia Gandhi named seven legislators as the party's working presidents in Gujarat.

These include Jignesh Mevani, Lalit Kagathara, Rutvik Makwana, Ambarish J Der, Himmatsingh Patel, Kadir Pirzada and Indravijaysinh Gohil.

Mevani, who won as an independent candidate from Vadgam assembly constituency in the 2017 state elections, had not formally joined the Congress yet.

When former Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress in September last year at the party headquarters, Mevani also shared the stage with him but did not take the membership due to some technical reasons.

His argument then was that he might lose the legislature membership if he joined the Congress being an independent legislator.

Though Mevani has regularly been seen on the Congress platforms, he is officially joining the grand old party now.

That said, in a party like the Congress a working president does not have much say in organisational matters. A state chief is an overarching authority and a working president is merely a symbolic appointment unless a person is specified in a particular role.

That is the reason why Patidar leader Hardik Patel was not happy with his appointment as the Gujarat Congress working president and eventually quit the grand old party to join the BJP in June this year. Had it been a powerful post, he wouldn't have left the Congress.

Prior to these, the Congress in March named a mega team of office bearers that included 75 general secretaries and 25 vice-presidents. It also named 19 new district committee presidents. The number is expected to cross 500 as the elections approach.

But this policy of keeping everyone happy won't yield the desired results. The Congress needs to strengthen the party organisation at the grassroots level, on the ground.

Being out of power since 1995 has taken a toll on the party's cadre as they feel highly demoralised and there is hardly any incentive for hard work.

On the other hand, the AAP is trying to capitulate on the Congress' weaknesses in its bid to strengthen the organisation.

The AAP is also projecting the Congress as a weak party that has not been able to put up a fight against the BJP in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah for the past nearly three decades.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's party is also exposing the vulnerabilities of the Congress legislators who have switched sides quite frequently in the past, thereby strengthening the BJP.

In that scenario, announcing jumbo teams is counterproductive, as they say too many cooks spoil the broth. 
It is essential to have a presence on the ground rather than big nameplates in party offices.