But all these factors, which make for good excuses in the routine post-mortems that follow an electoral defeat, are not an end in themselves — they are symptoms of a much deeper malaise that the Congress leadership has failed to address since its unexpected victory in the 2004 general elections.

And the central facet of that malaise is the continuing mismatch between governance and politics. When Sonia Gandhi appointed Manmohan Singh prime minister almost three years ago, the general feeling was that the division of responsibilities was the best thing to happen to the party. The Congress had marginally improved its tally in the Lok Sabha, but 145 seats did not exactly spell a revival. The Congress managed to displace the NDA, as we all know, only because it succeeded in winning some crucial allies and secured the support of the Left, which managed to win a record number of seats — unlikely to be matched again — in 2004.

But having come to power, and with Sonia Gandhi free to devote herself to party-building, there was great hope that the Congress would lift itself out of the lethargy and disarray that it had sunk into. Unfortunately, Sonia Gandhi and the Congress leadership have failed to do any such thing. The party’s interventions have largely been in the field of governance — prodding the PM’s team to set aside funds for flagship ‘aam aadmi’ projects such as Bharat Nirman, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Rural Health Mission, Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, and soon to be announced minority welfare schemes.

... contd.