January 14 was to be a big day for Congress as Rahul Gandhi started his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur. However, the day was eclipsed by Milind Deora’s surprising decision to quit Congress. Deora severed his family’s five decades-old ties with the party. While Deora reportedly quit over the Mumbai South seat that Congress agreed to give to Shiv Sena-UBT, his move to quit Congress shows the grand old party’s disregard for young and dynamic leaders. The picture that you are seeing above is a testament to this. This photo has five leaders – Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora, Jitin Prasada, RPN Singh, and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Except for ‘disgruntled’ Pilot, all the four leaders have left the Congress party to join the BJP or NDA allies. Let’s take a look at the timeline when key leaders quit Congress:
11 March 2020: Scindia
The big shock for Congress came in 2020 when Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned and joined the BJP. Once among Rahul Gandhi’s closest aides, Scindia’s move led to the fall of the Kamal Nath Government in the state. According to reports, Scindia was not happy after being sidelined for Kamal Nath by the party. Scindia not only ended his 18-year association with the Congress but also laid the ground for keeping Congress in opposition in the state. He was also among those few Congress leaders who supported the Modi government’s move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
9 June 2021: Jitin Prasada
A year later, another man pictured in this photo left Congress. He was the senior Congress leader and former Union minister Jitin Prasada. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Prasada was among the G-23 leaders who raised their voices demanding overhauling of the party organisation.
25 January 2022: RPN Singh
Months later, former MP from Kushinagar and former union minister RPN Singh joined the BJP. It was a setback for the Congress as Singh was also the party’s in-charge for Jharkhand affairs.
Sachin Pilot And Himanta Sarma
Despite being upset with the party leadership, Sachin Pilot has so far kept his cards close to his chest. Just like Scindia faced Kamal Nath, Pilot has been upset with Ashok Gehlot. However, it all started in August 2015 when Himanta Biswa Sarma, a dynamic leader from Assam, left Congress and joined the BJP after being ignored by Tarun Gogoi, then CM of Assam. In all these three cases, Congress opted to stick with its senior guards like Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot and Tarun Gogoi. While it lost Sarma and Scindia, the party has been on its toes to keep Pilot in its flock. Today, Congress has lost ground in Assam, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It has lost connection with people in Uttar Pradesh from where RPN Singh and Jitina Prasada belong.
These are some of the many instances of young leaders deserting Congress. In June 2022, Hardik Patel had left Congress to join the BJP in Gujarat. In December 2022, the BJP had formally inducted former Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergil. This shows that the Congress party is not ready to accept the young leaders taking charge. It might be a fear factor within Congress that a rise of young leaders may challenge the authority of Rahul Gandhi. When Shashi Tharoor filed for the Congress president post, the Gandhi family indirectly backed veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge who would not make any radical change in the organisation without the approval of the Gandhi family.
On the other hand, the BJP is not wary of giving reigns in the hands of young leaders. Today, Scindia is looking after the Union Aviation Ministry while comparatively younger faces were given CM posts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma has ensured two straight terms for the BJP.