‘Nothing Adjustments’: Maharashtra Misadventure After Haryana Havoc Sparks Questions Inside Congress – News18
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There are some who complain that the marketing campaign was too Rahul Gandhi-centric, that his interactions with ladies in Maharashtra or on air pollution had been good and common however took away consideration from the native leaders
Regardless of the try and need to maintain the marketing campaign ‘vocal for native’, it was not so. Solely Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who speaks Marathi, was seen as the precise alternative. However virtually each choice was taken in Delhi. (File picture/PTI)
With defeat comes the unravelling. Confronted with two consecutive losses in key states, Haryana and Maharashtra, voices are being raised within the Congress in opposition to many prime leaders and political strategists.
Some have questioned the free rein given and the political technique being left within the arms of Sunil Kanugolu. Sunil was at one level with Jan Suraaj celebration chief and former political tactician Prashant Kishor however branched out to kind his personal agency.
Known as the whiz child of elections after his campaigns in Karnataka and Telangana had been profitable, Sunil was a part of the internal circle of prime Congress leaders. Shying away from the limelight and retaining a low profile, he has the ears of the Gandhis. Sunil has managed the technique, campaigns, ticket distribution to a sure extent, and naturally the election manifesto. However now, he’s within the line of fireside, with some within the celebration asking why he was given such a free hand.
In the long run, most of the strategies by Sunil’s crew weren’t heard. There was some frustration {that a} mere strategist couldn’t assist win elections, and the leaders too needed to cooperate and work. News18 reached out to Sunil Kanugolu for a response, however his crew mentioned he had no feedback to make.
One criticism is that the Congress ought to have been extra aggressive over the Ladki Bahin Yojana and brought on the BJP over this. Many leaders on the bottom additionally make the purpose {that a} comparable Mahalakshmi scheme was not aggressively pushed on the bottom.
However a number of level out that it’s unfair to place the blame on Sunil alone. “Given the character of the Congress, the place there are a lot of segments and an excessive amount of democracy, nobody is prepared to pay heed to the self-discipline a political strategist desires to carry to the desk,” mentioned an insider. The large query now’s, will Sunil nonetheless name the pictures within the 2025 Delhi polls?
Too centralised?
Regardless of the try and need to maintain the marketing campaign “vocal for native”, it was not so. Solely Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who speaks Marathi, was seen as the precise alternative. However virtually each choice was taken in Delhi.
Studies of native leaders being sidelined or snubbed got here out. It was clear to see at, say, press conferences, the place the Delhi leaders had been made to take a seat in entrance whereas these from the state needed to scramble for seats.
Overreliance on Rahul?
Now that is the place there may be some concern and discord. A few hours after outcomes poured in, a Congress supporter with the X deal with Amock introduced that he wouldn’t steer anymore, saying that whereas he considers Rahul Gandhi to be his chief, he can now not be dictated about what to publish or work below an NGO-style of functioning. There are some who complain that the marketing campaign was too Rahul Gandhi-centric, that his interactions with ladies in Maharashtra or on air pollution had been good and common however took away consideration from the native leaders.
Just like the BJP, the Congress too adopted the state “by and for locals and native management” mannequin, however the social media campaigns in and round Rahul Gandhi had two issues. One, they didn’t assist the state voters grow to be accustomed to the Congress leaders of the state. Second, they needlessly made Rahul Gandi a stakeholder and inevitably a type of held answerable for the defeat, one thing that the highest management didn’t need.
So what subsequent? And who shall be held accountable? Mentioned a type of concerned within the technique, “Within the Congress, day by day is a brand new day. The previous is forgotten and forgiven. So nothing modifications.”
