Kharge googly may not win INDIA 2024 poll match, but it may be a better pitch

The latest proposal of the opposition INDIA alliance is that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge should be their prime ministerial candidate in 2024. Desperate gamble or wily strategy? On the face of it, harking to 81-year-old Kharge seems like a tired idea from old India. Can a veteran of an earlier era match the expectations of today?However, for the opposition, facing increasingly anxious times, it’s an idea with potential. Kharge-as-PM candidate has opportunities to create a new narrative. If pitched right, it could at least give the opposition a story to offer voters.Fresh from a trouncing in the winter assembly polls, the opposition now finds a whopping 146 of its MPs suspended from Parliament. Its platforms have already shrunk. Crowded out by the ruling party in the mainstream media space, it is becoming less visible.In the states where it is in office, central enforcement agencies are sniffing at its heels. Amidst the gloom, the chief ministers of Bengal and Delhi, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, have lobbed the Kharge ‘googly’. medium106237200However, Kharge himself has downplayed the proposal, and his candidature does have its cons. As a Congress senior and Gandhi loyalist, Kharge may not appeal to India’s urban middle class. In a country where 65% is under 35 years, Kharge is not known for either dazzling charisma or telegenic style. Congress is weakest in the Hindi heartland and hailing from Karnataka, Kharge’s not a Hindi heartland neta, even though he speaks fluent Hindi. He’s a grave, low-voiced elder statesman like figure, not an edgy, media-savvy, high-voltage personality cult.Yet his age and seniority give him an advantage in the INDIA bloc which is shot through with disunity. In elections in Madhya Pradesh, Congress kept the Samajwadi Party out. In Chhattisgarh, AAP targeted then Congress chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. In Delhi, Congress accuses AAP of being entangled in the liquor scam. In Punjab, Congress accuses AAP of trying to destroy it. In Kerala, the Left and Congress are at loggerheads, and in Bengal, Trinamool and Left are sworn enemies.In 2014 and 2019, by voting in single-party majority governments, voters have signalled a desire for stability. With Kharge as its face, a disparate INDIA coalition could project some sense of calm experience and consensus-building cohesion.Perhaps more important is Kharge’s own compelling life story. He was born into grinding poverty, his father a mill labourer and union leader. As a boy of seven, he saw his mother and sister burned alive in the 1940 communal riots in Hyderabad state, when members of the Razakar militia went on a rampage. As a Dalit who embraced Buddhism, Kharge battled against impossible odds to obtain an education and become a lawyer.Kharge is a son-of-the-toil who has himself pointed out that “nobody would drink my tea”. Today, the Congress is losing support among the poor, backward and tribal communities which were once its base. Of the 98 SC-reserved constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, BJP won 57, while the Congress managed only 40. In 2018, BJP had won 32 of these seats and the Congress 45. medium106237205Just as PM Narendra Modi’s story of going from chaiwala to powerhouse was key to building a message of an aspirational India, Kharge’s harrowing life story could build a message of an egalitarian India. Instead of abstract ideas like a caste census, the Kharge story is an opportunity to give a living example of hope and justice for India’s poorest and most marginalised.Other leaders in INDIA face limitations. After recent losses, realisation is dawning that Rahul Gandhi with his dynastic and elite identity paradoxically confers a huge advantage on the BJP. He’s led Congress twice against BJP, and failed twice. Mamata Banerjee is a Bengal-first leader, her regional rootedness is both her strength and weakness. Arvind Kejriwal was a possible future face but is now hobbled with Delhi liquor policy cases. Nitish Kumar has switched parties too many times to pass the reliability test and Sharad Pawar is visibly tiring. Kharge himself has never laid stress on his caste background and despite enduring immense personal suffering in communal riots, not used polarising language. He cannot ever be stereotyped as ‘naamdaar’.Today 24x7 media demands personalities and projecting Kharge could give the opposition the story it needs. It could take to the voters the constitutional promise of social justice and the Gandhian-Ambedkarite dream of equality of all citizens. In 2024, the opposition is unlikely to defeat the almost invincible BJP election machine, but at least it will have a message.Read more from the author here.