The Congressional Working Committee meeting paid tribute to two veterans last week, Tarun Gogoi and Ahmed Patel, who succumbed to COVID-19
-Related complications. But it is the tribute paid to Ahmed Patel that stands out and has telling significance in the future politics of the party.
The CWC said: “Shri Patel’s unique contribution was his unique ability to reconcile competing aspirations and forge unity and camaraderie among party leaders and members. Ahmed bhai he had no personal ambition. The interest of Congress was his only interest. “
And this is what could be the beginning of the change in the future policy of the party. The party immediately appointed former Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal as treasurer of the AICC, a position also held by Ahmed Patel.
The choice may seem surprising, but a treasurer’s job is also to ensure that party funds keep floating and flowing. Not many leaders can muster the courage to call the chief ministers of Congress and ask them to contribute. Not many can also decide how much to spend and where.
Pawan Bansal is low-key, but he clearly enjoys the confidence of the Gandhis when it comes to money. But if the powerful chief ministers were as willing to disburse funds as they were with Patel, it will be Bansal’s biggest challenge.
But Ahmed Patel’s disappearance may have bigger ramifications within the party. Many speak of the search for a replacement for Ahmed Patel. The question is ‘will Rahul’s Congress want one’? It is an obvious fact that much of the tug of war within Congress in recent years was also a noora kushti between the veterans who had the Ahmed Patel crest on one side and the younger members of ‘Team Rahul’ who felt that the older ones would never let them grow or assert themselves.
Rajasthan is a recent example, Ashok Gehlot had the support of Ahmed Patel, and his fight against Sachin Pilot was also seen as the fight between old and young. It’s also a fact that not many on ‘Team Rahul’ felt comfortable with or had the connection to Patel.
Rahul Gandhi’s struggle within Congress was also a struggle he had with Ahmed Patel and that relations between them were sometimes cold was a well known fact. Ahmed Patel never enjoyed the same camaraderie with Rahul Gandhi as he did with his mother Sonia, and occasionally he would appear.
At the CWC meeting after the 2014 Lok Sabha results, Gandhi openly accused older people of not siding with his slogan of “chowkidar chor hai”. Gandhi asked how many of you can raise your hand and say you were with me. Not many hands were raised, some older people crossed their arms around the chest. Some of those who came out said they didn’t even ask us before this slogan was coined.
Some young people who were close to Rahul Gandhi said: “When your own elders do not support you, how do you expect the slogan to capture the minds of the voters? We are disappointed in the elders.” And it was inevitable, Ahmed bhai he was seen as the leader of the pack. Increasingly, decisions began to be made without keeping Patel up to date.
He was often the last to know, and his home became a meeting place for many disgruntled leaders. But each time Ahmed Patel overcame the occasion to show that the party mattered more and not his personal equations. This was evident with the call to the CWC about the letter from ‘the group of 23’. As long as the crisis hit Congress, or when the formation of the government became a critical issue as in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, Ahmed Patel could not be completely replaced. Sonia Gandhi depended on him and therefore the children also had to accept that Ahmed bhaiirreplaceable wisdom.
Despite this, the gap between Rahul Gandhi and Ahmed Patel grew wider and wider to bridge it. So post Patel, what could happen? An Ahmed Patel is unlikely if Rahul Gandhi takes over as president.
A team will help and assist you. But more importantly, the effort of the young ‘Team Rahul’ to bring out the old guard led by Ahmed Patel will be a task that will likely be fulfilled. The elders are clearly very worried and without Ahmed bhai around, their time is clearly up. And it is no coincidence that the majority of letter writers are veterans and Rahul’s Congress is unlikely to view them with kindness.
The CWC tribute to Ahmed Patel who acclaimed him for having no personal ambition is exactly the message for the rest of Congress: that while Ahmed Patel may have distanced himself and not enjoyed the same relationship with ‘Team Rahul’, this quality of him is what is expected of those who now take charge. Finally dead, Ahmed Patel has resolved the issue of the power struggle in Congress. The ‘era of Ahmed Patel’ is over. Finally, the generation gap has been bridged and it is time for the youngest to take charge.
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