A year into his tenure, Mallikarjun Kharge will face his biggest challenge as five states go to simultaneous elections before the year draws to a close. Three of them in the Hindi heartland — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — will test the Congress president’s resolve on several fronts. Kharge’s ascent to the Congress’ top post last year was a significant departure for the party where the Gandhis strongly held the reins for over two decades. And the time has come for him to prove his mettle.

In doing so, Kharge would not just shape the Congress’s electoral fortunes, but perhaps pave the way for the possibility of a long-term transformation in the functioning of the grand old party where Gandhis have always exercised ultimate control.

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With the election season setting in with the announcement of the election results, win or loss won’t be the sole criterion Kharge will be judged on. Having set out its political agenda through an unambiguous push for OBCs, caste census and women, Kharge’s ability to meet multi-headed challenges will be key to the Congress’ broad political standing as well as its position within the Opposition.

A tightrope walk

One of the biggest challenges Kharge faces in his presidency is in maintaining a fine balance within the party amid multiple factional wars that have almost come to define the Congress party, particularly post-2014. Kharge was confronted with a similar challenge early into his tenure as Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar staked claim to chief ministership after the Congress’ landslide win in Karnataka. To his credit, Kharge managed to work a formula and even got the warring leaders to agree to it.

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The agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar was a testament to Kharge’s maturity and his ability to walk the middle ground in times of crisis. (File photo: The Indian Express)

Karnataka was no mean achievement for Kharge. He had managed to save Congress immense embarrassment despite a poll win as he got warring factions to shake hands despite a personal stake in the state. His son Priyank Kharge, now a minister in the Siddaramaiah government and a three-time MLA, owes much of his success to his father’s legacy in the state. On more than one occasion, the senior Kharge himself was seen as a claimant to the chief minister’s chair. The agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar was a testament to Kharge’s maturity and his ability to walk the middle ground in times of crisis.

Less than a year later, Kaharge finds himself in familiar terrain in Rajasthan and in Chhattisgarh. While Sachin Pilot virtually left no stone unturned to bring down Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a public rebellion that eventually faded away, TS Singh Deo, though measured in his dissent, chose to measure his words while driving home his point. Both rebellions, at some point or the other, have threatened to bring down a majority Congress government, while exposing the deep chasms within.

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Kharge, so far, has managed to keep things under control. However, the coming few months will test how long he can walk the tightrope. Any letdown in containing the factionalism will have a direct bearing on the Congress’ prospects in the three crucial states.

Prestige Battle

The Congress, in power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, is leaving no stone unturned to retain these states where it came to power in 2018. However, a win in Madhya Pradesh, where it was displaced from power following Jyotiraditya Scindia’s rebellion, would be the sweetest among the three.

But that does not take away from the importance that Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan hold for the party. Locked in a direct contest with the BJP in these states, a loss would deal a body blow to the perception of a stronger and re-energised Congress that the party has sought to build through the Bharat Jodo Yatra and its stellar victory in the Karnataka polls. Much of the responsibility for shaping the narrative for the Congress in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections rests on Kharge’s shoulders. For, the battle isn’t just for survival, but also to build a perception that the Congress has the ability to consistently hand the BJP a taste of defeat.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s leadership here will be keenly observed as it will be key to shaping the Congress’ prospects in the near future. (File photo: PTI)

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With the BJP deciding against naming a chief ministerial candidate in either of the three Hindi heartland states, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose prestige will be on the line. Like Karnataka, where the BJP adopted a similar strategy and failed, a win for the Congress could strip Modi of his halo of invincibility. A slip-up, on the other hand, would reflect poorly on Congress.

Caste, reservations and more

In a break from the past, the Congress party has chosen to put all its weight behind the issue of caste census and the inclusion of OBCs in women’s reservation. Rajasthan skipped the queue to announce one on the lines of Bihar on the eve of the announcement of poll dates. In Chhattisgarh and MP, the Congress said it will conduct one if it returns to power. Clearly, reservations and caste form a significant part of Congress’ poll strategy for Assembly elections and beyond.

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Kharge will again shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that this outline of the Congress’ campaign is effectively communicated to voters. OBCs, EBCs and Dalits form a sizable population in these three states which will also act as a test case for the party’s caste gambit and its electoral impact. The policies identified by the Congress in the run-up to the elections are bold and have the potential to change the political landscape of the country. But taking these policies to the people would require a concerted and united effort by the party unit. Kharge’s leadership here will be keenly observed as they could shape the Congress’ prospects in the near future.

Congress in INDIA

The decision by Opposition parties to shun their differences and unite under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc is another watershed moment in Indian politics in the 21st century. United against a bigger enemy in the form of the BJP, its success also hinges upon how it navigates its own internal contradictions. While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the face of the efforts to bring different parties on board, Kharge was always the brain behind it.

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Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Nitish Kumar, and others in Patna. (File photo: The Indian Express)

The performance of the Congress will not only determine its electoral standing against the BJP but also its influence within the INDIA bloc. A stronger Congress would give it considerable say in seat distribution but also on the sticky issue of leadership.

The Congress, which has faced two of its biggest-ever successive defeats in the 2014 and 2019 elections, knows that the coming five-state polls are not just about establishing regional sway. They transcend state borders. There has never been more riding on the Congress, now the nucleus of the Opposition’s national narrative, as now. And Kharge, in the thick of it all, has his hands full.