Congress can’t afford such exits

Deora left for selfish reasons, but party suffers damage

The reasons for Milind Deora quitting the Congress party may be commonplace, but they confirm the notion that Congress is unable to retain people, both leaders and followers. Deora was among the leaders close to the Gandhi family and belonged to the coterie around Rahul Gandhi. With his departure, all the young leaders known as the ‘Rahul brigade’ are out of the party. Milind Deora’s family has been with Congress for over 50 years and was the party’s face in Mumbai. He, and his late father Murli Deora, have held important positions in party and government. Leaving the party, Milind Deora has said that he was being neglected in the party which, he was sure, was drifting. He has joined the Shiv Sena (Shinde), which has warmly welcomed him. 

The Congress party has said that Deora’s departure is inconsequential and will not affect its fortunes in Mumbai or Maharashtra. But parties are impacted in various ways by the actions of their leaders. Deora was not a grassroots politician with a large following. But many others in the party also do not have such following. The party is not in such a strong position as to dismiss the resignation of any leader as inconsequential. Deora’s resignation is not a single, isolated event. It is part of a series of resignations over a period and that magnifies its impact. It has happened when the Lok Sabha elections are very close and would therefore attract more attention. Even if it is true that Deora did not carry much worth when he was in the party, his exit in the present circumstances creates some worth for him that would work against the party. He may also have timed his resignation with the start of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra so that it would attract more attention on that ground as well.

Deora was defeated in the last two Lok Sabha elections by the undivided Shiv Sena in Bombay South constituency. The Shiv Sena (Thackeray) is to contest from that seat, as part of the seat-sharing deal in the MVA, and so Deora would not have got the Congress ticket to contest for that seat. It is easy to see that Deora quit the party for this reason, and blame him for that. But Deora could have been accommodated in other ways. The Shiv Sena (Shinde) has offered him a position not for the value that he brought to the party but for the damage it can do to the Congress. The Congress can ill-afford such exits at this time.