There is much analysis of why the Congress is struggling, despite ostensibly favourable circumstances. Many explanations are familiar and spot on: the organisational revival is still uneven; its ability to adapt to local conditions remains spotty. There is also a deep problem with its message. Watching Rahul Gandhi’s speeches gives you a couple of clues. There is a constant refrain on the theme “hamne apke liye yeh kiya...”, almost like a throwback to the ’70s. It fundamentally misunderstands how India has transformed. Voters, including the poorest of the poor, find this kind of language patronising. The real revolution that has come about because of the social churning over the last two decades is that voters are looking for instruments of empowerment, not palliative handouts from the state. The Congress still has not found a language to articulate this. While the focus on the poor is sincere, the critique of India Shining plausible, there is no politics of aspiration associated with the Congress’s message. In their own limited ways, various regional parties appeal to a sense of vicarious pride, Mayawati’s articulates a dream of Dalit empowerment and visibility. Successful messaging is not about a claim to noblesse oblige, not only about attacking opponents with outdated issues. It is as much about being a source of hope; looking at people in the eye and instigating dreams. But somehow, hope gets dissipated in the fog of Centrally-sponsored palliative welfarism that is the core of the Congress message.

But another explanation is that the Congress carries unsavoury baggage: its capacity to wreck institutions. The Congress lost credibility because Indira Gandhi went about destroying institutions, from the judiciary to her own party. As the recent reports in this paper of the government’s interference with the CBI suggest, this propensity has not gone away. Not just the CBI, but the authority and credibility of independent constitutional offices have been consistently undermined. The quality and partisan conduct of some of the governors appointed under the UPA did not reflect well on the office. The appointment of Navin Chawla to the Election Commission did not do much for the credibility of that institution.

... contd.