Congress set for a major overhaul under Rahul Gandhi

Over time, most large organisations tend to develop inefficiencies, become constrained by bureaucratic processes or get captured by vested interests. This ‘plateau’ phase can be observed in the private sector, public sector and even in political movements.  Private sector organisations face regular market tests that force them to address organisational sclerosis. Political parties too face the ‘market’ every few years and have to renew themselves in order to survive.

The 128-year-old Indian National Congress has proven its resilience, and has bounced back from extraordinary challenges like the 1969 split, huge losses in 1977 and in the 1990’s. As it faces another major challenge in 2014, the party must find ways to revive its organisation, break the stranglehold of vested interests, and end the role of godfather politics.

A good test of its  transformation will be if it allows even a sincere dedicated Congress worker to compete on a level playing field, represent the party in elections and ultimately in parliament.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi announced his commitment to overhaul the party with great force in the recent AICC meet. He has embarked on a mission to get rid of the old methods that have weakened the party to overhaul internal processes to make them more open and transparent. His first step in this direction is to democratise the process of candidate selection.

Building on his experience of institutionalising democratic processes in the Youth Congress and the National Student Union of India, which has created a whole cadre of youngsters experienced in election campaigns, Rahul Gandhi is now re-introducing internal democracy in the parent organisation. In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 15 constituencies around the country are going to be subject to American style ‘primaries’ where the party’s office bearers will directly choose the candidates for their constituencies. In the next few years, this process will be replicated across all constituencies.

So what is this reform about and what could its possible consequences be? At one level, this is a revival of the old Congress system. Remember, Subhash Chandra Bose famously challenged the then Congress high command’s (Mahatma Gandhi) preferred nominee, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, for the post of the President of the Indian National Congress. And won!

But the Congress move is most often compared to the American primary system. America’s primaries build on a unique feature of its political system. When voters register, they are given the option to declare their affiliation to the Democrats, Republicans or to register as Independents. Then, for every elected office, all prospective candidates take part in a primary election where only registered party voters get to participate.

The victor becomes the party candidate for the general election.

Earlier, candidates were chosen by party leaders in ’smoke-filled backrooms’. Party bosses essentially sat down and worked out a deal on who the candidates should be. The primary system was brought in to break that stranglehold of party bosses and it has had remarkable impact. Barack Oba­ma would not have been President if not for the primary system, which gave him an opportunity to go to every single state, run his own campaign, reach out to the party faithful and take on the establishment.

India, we do not have a system where voters declare their affiliation to a political party. Nor should the Election Commission get involved with a political party’s internal issues such as candidate selection. However, every party will benefit substantially by selecting a candidate democratically. This would ensure that candidates reach out to the party workers—the front line warriors, who spread its message and spearhead voter outreach.

If parties are in the stranglehold of people who have risen through their connections, influence, money and muscle power, would they be amenable to these kinds of changes?  Only an exercise like the one that Rahul Gandhi is undertaking will reveal the answer. Already transparency is clearly visible. The criteria for candidates and electors are displayed in the public domain at primaries.inc.in. This may seem like a small step for one party but it is a giant leap for the country. After all, transforming the Indian National Congress - the country’s largest and oldest party—is a major historic undertaking.

The deepening of democracy is an everlasting project; and so is the revival and reorganization of political parties. It takes guts, leadership, vision and capacity to carry through and translate one’s idealistic vision into practical reality. If Rahul Gandhi’s bold initiative succeeds, it will reinvigorate the party, lend increased legitimacy to candidates, give voice to the dedicated party worker, and allow the Congress to face the 2014 election with renewed energy and sense of purpose. That end goal makes the Congress party’s internal primary a pivotal moment in India’s political evolution.

The author is a prof at IIM, B’lore, and a spokesperson of the Congress