The Congress Hopes Against Hope On A Candidate For President.

The Congress hopes against hope for the entire Opposition to agree on a candidate for president.

- Bhavna Vij-Aurora

Facing the threat of oblivion, the Grand Old Party of India is desperately trying to shake off its deep-rooted torpor and remain relevant in the rapidly-shrinking political ground that it finds itself in. With the BJP on a roll and going about their avowed goal of occupying the entire political space “from Panchayat to Parliament” in an extremely systematic and clinical manner, the Congress—in its present disarrayed form—appears far removed from presenting any challenge.

After humiliating setbacks in successive state assembly elections—Punjab being the only exception—the Congress is hobbling around not only to set its own house in order, but also to forge Opposition unity to take on the might of PM Narendra Modi’s popularity and Amit Shah’s shrewdness. The upcoming elections for the president and vice­president of the country are being seen as a test case for the Opposition parties—whether they can come to get­ her and put up joint candidates for the two Constitutional posts.

The presidential election has to be held before July 24 when Pranab Mukherjee’s term comes to an end. Several leaders of Opposition parties feel this “experiment of unity” could very well go beyond the presidential election and be a precursor to an anti­NDA front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Congress leaders are not very optimistic about the operation that is being spearheaded by Sonia Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi is also believed to be chipping in, and is expected to play a bigger role with Sonia keeping unwell. A senior leader says it looks like an exercise in futility.

“There are 13 parties and as many leaders with big egos. It is not easy to bring them on a common platform,” he tells Outlook.