In an intense personality contest, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on one side, who is a match to him in the Congress?
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is “more than a match” to Mr. Modi in Karnataka, and in every State, the party is going to come up with voices and leaders who will counter the Prime Minister, Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said.
He was quick to add that it would be “Rahul Gandhi-plus”, with a team of leaders with him.
Mr. Gowda, a young face of the Congress, was in conversation with Nistula Hebbar, Political Editor, The Hindu , on “Winning: can the Congress turn the tide?”
Fading brand
The Minister said “Brand Modi” was already fading, opening up the space for Mr. Gandhi to connect better, allowing people to look at him afresh.
“One word that resonated during the feedback I got from a large cross section after Rahul Gandhi’s recent tour in the State [Karnataka] was believability. I think believability and reliability is how ‘Brand Rahul’ will shape,” he said, juxtaposing it with what he termed “hollow promises of Modi who after four years continues to talk of only 60 years past”. “The focus is on building a long-term trustworthy relationship promising what we can do,” he said.
Mr. Gowda pitched an empowering strong local leadership as one of the paths for the revival of the Congress. Asked what had changed with Rahul Gandhi as the new leader of the party, he said a subtle change had been that Mr. Gandhi had empowered the local leadership to take decisions and lead their States.
“Where there is strong local leadership, central leadership is giving more space. While he has allowed Siddaramaiah to develop a Karnataka Model of Development, Rajasthan also has a young team being given space,” he said.
The Minister spoke of a “Karnataka model of development”, and pitched it as an alternative to that of the BJP. “We have achieved high growth, amid prudent fiscal practices and achieved inclusive growth implementing path-breaking welfare schemes. This is the model that we offer,” he said.
Temple visit
But has the Congress been treading the path of soft-Hindutva, with the temple visits of Rahul Gandhi during the recent Gujarat and the ongoing Karnataka campaigns?
The Minister said the temple visits were nothing new, but the perception was new as the lens had changed.
Game plan
“The BJP, to cover up its failures in livelihood and real issues, has been pushing issues of faith and identity to the fore. Goalposts are changing too. So the way a visit to a temple is being perceived has changed,” he said, pointing out that Mr. Gandhi visited temples even during his 2008 election campaign in Karnataka.
“The Congress represents all walks of life and the visits to places of worship is only a reflection of that. For instance, Rahul Gandhi visited a Sufi shrine, two Lingayat places of worship and that of a subaltern goddess,” he said.
“In the south, we have a far more diverse understanding of Hinduism itself. I come from a Sudra community, and we have many religious festivities revolving around non-vegetarianism. We have many gods and goddesses in the south who are non-vegetarian. It is for the BJP to say whether their Hindutva includes these gods too,” Mr. Gowda explained.
