Cong losing elections since Rahul emerged as its face in 2014, says Sharmistha Mukherjee
Gurugram: Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, commented on the organisational strength of the Congress party, stating that it reflects a “failure” on the part of Rahul Gandhi because, according to her, he has not been able to secure a decisive mandate for the party despite being its face.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Mukherjee pointed out that since 2014, around the time Rahul began to emerge as the face of Congress, the party has consistently lost elections. She also criticised the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha for his tendency to pull out a “disappearing act” after elections, emphasising that politics should be viewed as a “full-time job”.
She also spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, her father, Pranab Mukherjee’s journey and his views about PM Modi, Congress’ organisational strength, etc.
The following are the excerpts from the interview:
IANS: You said that PM Modi is one of the strongest leaders the country has seen since Independence. Can you explain this?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: I have written in my article that he is one of the strongest Prime Ministers. It does not mean that there were no other strong Prime Ministers. He is one of the strongest Prime Ministers. I will say this because Narendra Modi has been successful in giving a strong and stable Central government to the country in the last 12 years. Many can criticise his policies because we are a democracy. However, one cannot deny that it has been a period of stability.
In the history of India, one can not help but wonder how a period of coalition government arrived and how it kept falling apart, and elections were held again and again. The UPA 1 and UPA 2 governments were also coalition governments, and because of that, many decisions were not taken. Even though both of these were stable governments, there were many ups and downs.
PM Narendra Modi has been successful in giving that stability to the nation.
IANS: Do you think that PM Modi will be known as the strongest politician of independent India?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: Every Prime Minister contributes to the country’s development. Each Prime Minister has different strengths and weaknesses. Every government works to move the country forward. History will judge the strengths and shortcomings of each leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a strong Prime Minister. As I said, he has provided a stable government.
For example, through initiatives like Digital India, he has significantly advanced the digitisation of the Indian economy. You can even make online payments in any remote village of India. There are many such policies of the Modi government.
Now, in the times of global uncertainty, the way PM Modi is taking forward a stable government is praiseworthy. Many people might criticise him for a few policies, but this is a democracy, and everyone has the right. However, he has done some of the most incredible work. Every PM has worked for the country, so I don’t think that comparison is the right thing to do.
IANS: How good a leader do you think Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is as compared to PM Modi?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: I don’t want to compare Rahul Gandhi with PM Narendra Modi. I think that comparison would be wrong. Just look at plain and simple electoral politics. Rahul Gandhi has been the face of Congress since 2014. And, since 2014, Congress has been losing elections one after another. This comparison is not right. PM Narendra Modi is a mass leader. His popularity can be seen from his mandate. Rahul Gandhi is not able to bring his mandate to Congress. This is a failure of Rahul Gandhi.
IANS: Is there any chance for Congress in 2029?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: I won’t make any speculation. In the election of 2024, Congress won 99 seats. He (Rahul Gandhi) did the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and it got a good result. But unfortunately, Rahul Gandhi does some programmes and then disappears. Where was he during the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra? Politics is a 24-hour, 365-day job. You come and then go out after two days. You do some rallies, meet some people and then you go out. So, according to me, politics is not like this.
There are state elections too. One can’t just win elections by forming alliances. Congress needs to strengthen the party. Even when I worked in Congress, it was just focused on how to win by forming alliances, not by strengthening the organisation. They don’t have the encouragement to win on their own strength.
IANS: Your father said that PM Modi became the country’s first directly elected Prime Minister in the true sense. What does it mean?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, there was a very unique situation in India. Traditionally, in Congress, the parliamentary party elected its leader. And those leaders then go to the President and stake a claim to form a government.
But for the first time, Narendra Modi was in a declared prime ministerial face. So people knew that if the BJP won the elections, Narendra Modi would become the Prime Minister. And the most important thing is that Narendra Modi was a new face in national politics, because he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. During that time, he had formed a certain aura. Following this, he fought the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and won. This mandate was not only for the BJP but also a personal one for Narendra Modi.
IANS: Sonia Gandhi did not choose Pranab Mukherjee to become the prime minister of the country? Some even claimed that your father was not willing to dance on the tunes of 10 Janpath like Manmohan Singh did. What do you think about this?
Both Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh respected my father a lot since he was mentored by Indira Gandhi ji and was an experienced leader. He was given immense respect and responsibilities within the party.
Sharmistha Mukherjee: I wasn’t involved in politics back in 2004… When the UPA government was formed in 2004, Sonia Gandhi was in a situation that who should be made the Prime Minister. So she chose Dr Manmohan Singh. So what is the big deal in this? He became the Prime Minister, but in the UPA government, in UPA 1 and UPA 2, my father, Pranab Mukherjee, got a lot of important responsibilities. He had a very good working relationship with Sonia Gandhi. Why she chose Manmohan Singh is something that only she can answer.
IANS: Who do you think can be the better leader between Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: I do not have any opinion on this. When I was in Congress, I was a junior. My interaction with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi was very limited. Whatever I am saying about Congress, I say as an observer. But I don’t want to compare Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Because my interaction with either of them was limited.
IANS: Do you think that the books from the Jawaharlal Nehru era describe the contributions of India’s first Prime Minister accurately or were those overemphasised?
Sharmistha Mukherjee: Pandit Nehru, who was the Prime Minister of India, I believe that Pandit Nehru should be fully credited for the roots of democracy in India. He was a visionary, he was a statesman. The way he established his scientific temperament and institutions, no one can deny his contribution to India’s democracy and post-independent history.
