There was a joke which started doing the rounds in the internet post the election debacle and the astounding loss of face for the grand old party.
” After the loss, Rahul Gandhi offers to resign and Rahul Gandhi being the President declines the resignation and asks that Rahul Gandhi take up the role of building the party and Rahul Gandhi as the President convinces Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation and congratulates Rahul Gandhi for convincing Rahul Gandhi to stay”

Whether it was meant as a joke or it was actually somebody speaking about the reality, we might never know. But what started as a joke has indeed turned into reality.

In the highly anticipated CWC meeting post the election debacle Rahul Gandhi offered to resign and it was unanimously struck down by all the party leaders. Here’s the thing with this offer. If a person is truly repentant and takes ownership of the debacle, he doesn’t offer to step down, he steps down. Period. There are no two ways about it. The drama doesn’t end there.

His sister Priyanka then intervenes and asks him to build the party from scratch and it wasn’t the time to resign. Our politician in the making/maturing was made the President a long time back and his promise was just that. To get new faces, engage the youth and empower the women! One can’t be expected to forget his interview to Arnab Goswami! He even promised to get rid of the old guard and inject fresh blood from the grassroots level. Wasn’t that what he was doing since he took over the party?

Rahul Gandhi magnanimous in his approach accepts to rescind his offer to step down and says that people like Ashok Gehlot, Kamalnath and P. Chidambaram have put their sons tickets over the welfare of the party and this culture has to change. Ahem! Is the pot calling the kettle black?

I mean, he of all people should know that when he says things like that it sounds ridiculous and hollow!!! He became the president of a national party because of his surname. Has no educational nor work qualifications to speak off. Is involved in several cases of fraud and cheating, which are currently coming up for trial and he is out on bail, which is just another dubious feather in his cap. Have the Congress and its workers become so enamoured with the family that they can’t see beyond the bubble of the family?

Not only that Rahul Gandhi says that his message of corruption on Rafael Deal was not carried to the masses and his campaign of Chowkidar Chor Hai was also not properly utilised by the local leaders and asked for a show of hands as to how many actually did use them. Alas everyone did. So did the ecosystem bred on such arrogance. So did the Khan Market aka Lutuens Gang. And so did your supporters right outside your CWC meet.

And you know what happened because they did? The people of the country gave a resounding slap to all those, who dared talk such drivel about the Prime Minister and asked them to look at themselves and introspect. The clown prince has plunged the party to new depths and it’s become a vote cutter party even for its allies instead of the national party, which ruled this country for 50 years and more.

And yet they chose him. If a corrupt party cannot identify itself without the grand old family, then it is bound to meet an even worse fate then it has seen this elections. If a party cannot let go of a moronic leader and equally inept politician then it speaks of the decay in the culture of the party. If the path they chose is towards political irrelevance apart from mentioning about their scam tainted past, then the country shall surely oblige.

In the meanwhile, what started out as a joke has indeed become reality and the clown prince is destined to drag his party down with him. Some heads will roll, there will be rhetoric, the cadre will cry about EVM’s and all that but the man, who was touted as the next big thing with a promise to enlighten the masses with his mere surname, will hold the reigns. So if you are expecting a fair opposition, I would say don’t hold your breath. If a man can stoop to criticising his partymen and cadre for not adopting his lies with all their heart imagine what will happen if he is actually in the opposition let alone become the Prime Minister.

If the party cannot get the message of the people and will not shed its rhetoric of lies and falsehoods, then come 2024, the party is bound to pay for it dearly. The mandate of the people of this country was clear. We believe in development. We believe in hardwork. But what we dont buy is dynasty, caste politics and the politics of fear. If the grand old party thinks even for a moment that it isn’t true then its fooling nobody but itself.

May be with extinction of one party we shall see the rise of a responsible opposition. Because the urgent need for our democracy is a responsible opposition not some entitled elitists, who can’t look beyond their own well being and live in their own bubble completely disconnected from the masses. That day seems not that far considering that dynasts don’t learn and elitists don’t see.

The writing is on the wall, when what started out as a joke on the internet turns into reality, then the party and it’s loyal workers do become jokers indeed!