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There has been much political noise over the weekend exit of the former Union Minister of State Milind Deora from the Congress party. Deora has joined the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, named for Eknath Shinde who broke away from the original party led by Uddhav Thackeray and teamed up with the BJP to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The Deora exit is largely a non-event, and probably guided by desperation to get a party ticket from somewhere for the Lok Sabha constituency of South Mumbai. This is after all the seat that Deora’s late father Murli Deora represented, followed by the son who later lost twice to the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which will claim that seat for 2024 if it goes into an alliance with the Congress. Deora will in that case be left with nothing. In that sense, Milind Deora’s exit is understandable and part of survival tactics at one level, a last-ditch attempt to remain relevant and hang on in the political space and keep alive a family legacy.
In this light, Deora need not be faulted or given credit for this switch. His new-found attacks on the Congress, calling the party anti-business, are equally understandable though in the present context it is difficult to see how this view will fetch him votes even if it brings big business to fund his election and the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. The Deoras, first Murli Deora and now his son Milind Deora, are themselves industrialist-traders, have been close to select business families and have been noted above all as celebrity fund raisers for the party in the past. Diamond merchants brought to the stage by Murli Deora would line up with cheques for the party and a few seconds of a photo-op with Mrs. Indira Gandhi, then the Prime Minister.
The Deora exit is largely a non-event, and guided by desperation to get a party ticket from somewhere for the Lok Sabha constituency of South Mumbai. This is after all the seat that Deora’s late father Murli Deora represented.
Murli Deora, who was the minister for petroleum and natural gas in the Manmohan Singh government, was to the last known to be close to and a personal friend of the Reliance group Chairman Mukesh Ambani, raising issues of a conflict of interest that were flagged by none other than Mukesh’s estranged brother, Anil Ambani. The Congress took no action against the senior Deora then, with Manmohan Singh ignoring blatant, in-your-face issues of governance, if not worse.
Mukesh Ambani (and separately Uday Kotak) endorsed Milind Deora during the 2019 elections, which Deora anyway lost. The open support was uncanny in the sense that it was unlikely to have added to the votes, but it did show that business leaders who otherwise prefer to play in the backrooms of politics were willing to wear their endorsement of Milind Deora on their sleeves. This was when he was from the Congress, and at a time the BJP was the best funded party and ruling in New Delhi and in Maharashtra.
Yet, the Congress has been slow to discard deadwood even in its hey days. In this, the BJP has been sharp, swift and very clear – you work for the party, and the reverse need not be true.
The view that the Deora exit on 15 Jan was timed to overshadow the walkathon that Rahul Gandhi began in Manipur on the same day shows the pathetic side of the shenanigans being orchestrated and played out as the 2024 election nears. But there is a larger message in the exit for the Congress, and it is a message that will help strengthen the party as it comes to terms with who really it ought to depend on to rebuild and reconnect with the people on its path of Bharat jodo (unity) and nyay (justice)– the headline text of Rahul Gandhi’s pre-election yatra across the nation.
Mukesh Ambani (and separately Uday Kotak) endorsed Milind Deora during the 2019 elections, which Deora anyway lost. The open support was uncanny in the sense that it was unlikely to have added to the votes, but it did show that business leaders who otherwise prefer to play in the backrooms of politics were willing to wear their endorsement of Milind Deora on their sleeves.
One of the risks of any political enterprise, and particularly the Congress party that has seen success and retained power for long stretches, is that it attracts and assimilates within its fold all kinds of workers who rise over the years to take leadership roles. The BJP suffers the same. Some of them will be opportunists, yes-men and fair-weather friends who have little to do with ideological commitment, an alignment of values or an understanding of the aspirations of ordinary people. They may be powerful moneybags, well-connected networkers or lobbyists with narrow interests, seeking political sanctuary or an easy ladder to rise up within the vastness of a political party, as long as the party has power and is able to dictate the political fortunes of its members. Without power, and the capacity to raise funds for future elections, these sets of players will quickly become uncomfortable and begin to exit.
The Congress will know that it is important to listen, to have inner party democracy but not to be browbeaten by demands and threats.
Something similar has happened to the Congress party in recent times, and that shows up the party’s weakness in some aspects and its strength in some others. The weakness is that the party allows these players to continue, and even gives them important spots within the political establishment which are then used by phonies to improve their toe-hold, expand influence and gain acceptance with a mask that is worn to conceal the person. The Congress has been reluctant to take stiff action against some of these durbaris. There is a complex set of reasons for this, not the least of which is that the party itself became known for corruption, and now it carries little leeway since it is anyway not in power and has no position of influence to dispense.
This clear message can go out to all Congress workers. The Congress will be stronger if all workers know and understand that they have a national task far larger than their own ticket to fight for.
Yet, the Congress has been slow to discard deadwood even in its hey days. In this, the BJP has been sharp, swift and very clear – you work for the party, and the reverse need not be true. Some will argue, not incorrectly, that in the BJP you work for one man, and while that criticism may be valid, the BJP’s attempt to bring in new faces, with fresh energy, is not to be dismissed lightly.
The Congress will know that it is important to listen, to have inner party democracy but not to be browbeaten by demands and threats. For example, Deora is said to have connected with the Congress through Jairam Ramesh on the prospect of losing his ticket for the 2024 elections. He sought to connect with Rahul Gandhi.
But what is to be done, if it eventually is in the interest of the Congress and the larger Opposition not to give the ticket to Deora and to hand it instead to the two-time winner from the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena? The answer is clear – Deora must make way for the party and work for anti-BJP forces. His mettle is to be tested as much here, as it is as a party candidate, should he get a ticket. This clear message can go out to all Congress workers. The Congress will be stronger if all workers know and understand that they have a national task far larger than their own ticket to fight for.