Innovative crowdfunding and a "Hai Tayyar Hum (we are ready)" campaign - after its recent election losses, the Congress party is making the right moves to demonstrate that it is very much in the reckoning for 2024. The "Bharat Nyay Yatra" from Manipur to Maharashtra is also a welcome step. Nobody will say the Congress has any chance of winning 272 seats in next year's national election, but no matter how badly it loses, a silver lining is key. A substantial increase in seats and vote share, for example, can strengthen Congress over the next five years.
How many seats the Congress wins will also be important for maintaining a democratic balance in our polity. Every seat and every vote counts. The Congress, therefore, has to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha election with the confidence and gusto of a party that is in it to win. That is why "Tayyar Hai Hum" is the right call, and along with the crowdfunding campaign, the party is sending the right signals to its workers and supporters - that it is up for the challenge.
The Bharat Nyay Yatra is important for several reasons, not least that it will seek to improve the Congress's national appeal, raising its stakes in a national election. If confidence is half the battle won, the other half needs a plan.
Here are some suggestions for Congress to maximise its performance in the 2024 polls.
1. Don't put all eggs in the INDIA basket: In public perception, the INDIA alliance must be only one part of the Congress election strategy and campaign. The Congress will need to assert its own independent identity as well. The Bharat Nyay Yatra will help with this. The stronger the Congress looks, the stronger the INDIA alliance will look. The bloc is important and useful but cannot be all-important for the Congress, not least because of the risk that the INDIA alliance sometimes looks slow to move, and full of disagreement.
2. Immediate focus on the narrative. With just about three months to go for the national election, the Congress must immediately make its narrative clear, as also its programme, its promises, guarantees, vision, and agenda for the people of India. While a manifesto committee has been formed, there isn't enough time to wait for one. Remember, the last-hour launch of the "NYAY" campaign hardly helped in 2019. The same mistake should not be made again. The key promises, the slogan, and the narrative of the Congress party's 2024 election campaign must be decided and announced as soon as possible. Getting the message across to the masses takes far longer than most presume.
3. Focus on jobs. The Bharat Nyay Yatra, with its focus on justice, must talk about the injustice of unemployment as the main issue. That is the number one issue today. There should be mass mobilisation of unemployed youth for a new economic agenda that will focus on creating jobs. As survey after survey shows this to be a major concern, this is low-hanging fruit for Congress. Unemployed youth can add a few percentage points to the Congress's vote share. More importantly, they can become amplifiers of the Congress's voice in society. A targeted, concerted focus on unemployment is a must.
4. Focus on inequality: India is one of the fastest-growing world economies, but there is enough data to show that the bottom half isn't climbing up the economic ladder. If the government has had to increase the NREGA budget and give free food grains to 80 crore people, it is proof that the poor aren't getting the leg-up they should. It is time to ask the 2004 question again: Aam Aadmi ko kya mila? While jobs can be the specific issue, the larger question about economic inequality must be in focus. The Bharat Nyay Yatra must focus on economic injustice.
5. Recharge the party organisation. It is the party worker who gets the vote out on polling day. The party must enthuse the worker, especially as the worker is demoralised today. The Bharat Nyay Yatra must address workers every morning before it addresses the common public. Steps must be taken to show that the Congress party values and respects the contribution of workers. At the same time, technology must be used to determine how many workers are actually active - how many are willing to execute simple door-to-door campaign tasks such as securing donations or signatures on petitions. Some would say it's not the right time for a new membership drive - but then, a membership drive should be a 365-day affair anyway. The more new members join Congress at election time, the more their neighbours, friends, and family take the party seriously.
6. Turn supporters into online amplifiers: We now live in the social media age. The dense penetration of smartphones must be used better for political campaigning. The 19.5% stable national vote share of the Congress is an opportunity. Those who vote for the Congress must be encouraged to participate in online campaigning. It is simple yet effective if online campaigning can be scaled up by using supporters and making them amplify the Congress's voice and narrative.
(Naresh Arora is an accomplished political strategist. He has worked for the Congress party for Haryana, Assam, Karnataka and Rajasthan Assembly elections)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.