British Raj: ended 1947 AD ..... Family Raj: ended ???

The party that led India to freedom; the first people's party of India; the party that gave its most iconic leaders to India. Various epithets are being used to describe the Congress which was the party that ruled India for quite some time from the day of its Independence.

The Congress is like a palace that was built in a grand fashion. But like any old palace it is now in ruins because the later leaders lacked the commitment that had built the party. Earlier the Congress was having members from every section of the society and truly it was a people's party. But now the Congress has condensed into a small family only-the Gandhis.

Any political party have to have many dimensions of thought and social experience. This helps it to make a decision that is touching every life in the country. But when a party tries to gravitate to a single point of importance and ignores all other viewpoints it no longer remains a party. This is the reality of Congress party today that has turned from being the most illustrious party in the history of the country to being the most hated and ridiculed party.

The Gandhi family shares an Italian cultural bond, but that does not imply that they can bring over a mafia styled gang and godfather model of governance to Congress. They have used the party to harbor their family and everybody in it. The result is simple. A party that is not a representation of the people will not be supported by the people. It is like that chair that grows more that its legs. The people who are working in the Congress no longer have any representation and all lights are directed to Rahul Gandhi. But the people never feel any connection to this guy and why should they? They are overshadowed, their efforts are not appreciated publicly. Other than a member of the Gandhi family who has been prominent in the media from the Congress party?
The result is that the party has lost more than 15 states to the BJP in assembly elections and will continue to loose more if they don't take a step. Using the hand to say that 'Ab Bas' to the Family Raj that has been continuing for decades and should choose new leadership for the Congress.

Decision against dynasties

The UP polls marked the highlight of the entire assembly polls season this year. The people of the most populous state in the country took a decision to vote for something other than just caste, religion or minority status. They realized that they were being played by the political parties or should I say political families. These families have divided the entire UP into a number of factions which they used to get into power. These factions were the basis for their power in the state. Also a state that has quite significance because the high number of voters. In terms of American polls this can be compared to the state having the highest number of electoral colleges.

The SP used the cycle, the common mode of transport for the poor in UP as the symbol to get the sentimental vote of the people. But their convoys always had nothing less than 4 wheel drives. The BSP used the minority Muslim vote to get into power and then ignore them and everybody else for the next 5 years. 

From renaming engineering colleges as per their convenience to making monuments that display their grandeur, this state has still not come out of the feudal mentality that people will be impressed by architectural marvels alone. The people gave them a strong message by the landslide victory of the BJP that they want something that is tangible to them.

The only fact that the people of UP understood this is in itself a great achievement and also a testament to the strength of the BJP in the whole country. But also this is a reminder call for the Congress party that they need to think whether they need a change in the leadership of the party and think of themselves as a party rather than a dynasty. Also this is a lesson to the SP that it should have reduced all the negative publicity that it accumulated during the tensions in their party. These events portrayed them as weak. And later they joined hands with Congress which gave the people the impression that it would lead to diarchy.

The people need a strong party and not a face or a family. And this can only be brought about by a strong leadership structure that is impervious of all the factors like family, face etc. It is high time that these parties take note of this.