The presidential election in Congress party was meant as a great comeback for the party through the dynamics of the election process. However, the election for the top post in the party has become a wet squib. It will surely disappoint those who believe that for democracy and federalism to survive, then a healthy opposition is needed.

The blunders in the election process have been many, with the latest being that one-third of those on the voters’ list has no address. As Congress is losing its ideological moorings because of diluting its core principles, the party needs a deep and comprehensive treatment to transform itself.

Rahul Gandhi’s instruction for an election in the party, fully knowing that it would be a one-sided contest, might energize the party through a heated contest. However, the strange thing is that the ‘official’ candidate to energize the party is an 80-year-old person, Mallikarjun Kharge, who himself is in need of a good Ayurveda treatment to revive himself.

All the senior leaders in the party are averse to supporting Shashi Tharoor, who is contesting the election with an election manifesto that details strategies to revive the Congress.

Some are saying that Tharoor, the three times winner in the Lok Sabha election, does not know politics. Some leaders, who have no idea of the United Nations and its works, are saying that as Tharoor was Under Secretary General of the UN, his experience is limited. Usually, for political leaders, a lack of knowledge is not a weakness. However, the refusal to know the mood of the people is a weakness.

Even some said that the qualification to get a position in the Congress party is longtime working political experience. The reason for such statements comes from shamelessness and not forgetfulness. Till the time Rajiv Gandhi took the reins of power as the Prime Minister, he had kept politics out of his life, deliberately.

There is an idea that terrorists can only understand the language of fear. Senior leaders can also understand a language and that is opportunism. When reports of Kharge’s unaccounted wealth came out, the BJP has not made it a big issue. Has the BJP used this opportunity to make Kharge weak? If not, the BJP is going to get another golden opportunity for that.

In 1969, Indira Gandhi led a revolt against senior leaders in Congress such as Kamaraj, Morarji Desai, N Sanjeev Reddy, Athulya Gosh, SK Patil, etc. When the party split, the young leaders and party workers dumped the senior leaders. Leaders who are moving against Tharoor need to learn a lesson from history.