After repeated poll setbacks, Anant Gadgil urges Congress to introspect and rebuild

Mumbai: After back to back drubbing in elections, veteran Congressman and former legislator Anant Gadgil has called for an urgent soul-searching exercise to deliberate on the cause of the debacle and chart out a comprehensive roadmap for revival.

“There is no alternative for the Congress but to learn from its mistakes. The real question is - will the party heed even now and rise to the occasion?,” said Gadgil.

Gadgil is son of former union minister late Vitthalrao Gadgil, who been the chief spokespersons of the Congress under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and grandson of late Narhar Vishnu alias Kakasaheb Gadgil, who was a minister in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet and a former Governor.

The Gadgils are Nehru-Gandhi family loyalists.

Gadgil also strongly advocated the emergence of fresh, middle-level leadership rooted in ideology and grassroots work.

Gadgil said the poll outcome has sparked intense debate, especially in the backdrop of what he termed the BJP’s sweep in the municipal council, town panchayat and municipal corporation elections.

According to him, despite favourable circumstances the Congress may have failed to capitalise politically.

“In such a situation, a critical analysis of the Congress’ performance is unavoidable to understand the situation,” Gadgil said.

He cited articles written by a Congress secretary in the media pointing out that the party has suffered defeats in nearly 75 per cent of Parliamentary and Assembly elections over the past decade, as a matter of serious concern.

Following discussions with senior office-bearers, leaders, and grassroots workers, Gadgil outlined several factors contributing to the party’s decline.

He felt that the chief among them is the systematic exclusion of local leaders and committed workers from the electoral process, while undue importance is being given to candidates with financial clout.

“However, dedicated activists with ideological conviction and decades of ground-level work are being sidelined,” he warned.

“Without singling out any individual for blame, the Congress must initiate an honest, wide-ranging brainstorming exercise,” Gadgil said. With rapid urbanisation reshaping Maharashtra’s political landscape, he emphasised that the party must move beyond money power and narrow caste equations.

“The time has come to back individuals with clean public images, particularly from the middle classes, who resonate with urban and semi-urban voters,” Gadgil stressed.