Congress lost its cadres to various group leaders. Their erosion continued to this day despite some wins in between due to other factors. The organisation was losing its base or connectivity with the base even when they had support and image with the masses.

Congress should be restored back to the masses where it has its roots. It should be taken out of the grip of group leaders and group culture. Democracy is the strength of the Congress party. Where is it now? It was throttled by the group leaders to retain their supremacy.

The democratic process would have thrown up mass leaders who remain connected to the people. They naturally would have become a threat to group leaders and their linkage to the group itself. So democratic elections within were replaced more often by ad hoc measures.

Even party posts were proportionately distributed to various groups within, a farce in the name of unanimity without elections. It was again power bargaining. The genesis and onset of the disease creating power centres were ignored initially till it took deeper roots.

The disease then has percolated so deep that leaders more openly started blackmailing and bargaining. The compromises for short term targets became regular with corrections becoming impossible and the status quo continued till now hurting the emergence of new leaders.

Since it has continued for decades it is difficult to justify the reasons for these failures. But the fact is it happened. The rule of Indira and Rajiv were curtailed, destabilised, terminated even before they could contemplate initiating long term measures to set right Congress.

After their exit, there was no mass leader in a strict sense of the term nationally and notionally to control and initiate measures. Sonia depended on various group leaders for their expertise and every measure was decided and dictated by them. So the status quo continued.

The vested interest of group leaders had a conflict of interest in the potential emergence of Rahul as a mass leader with a clearer vision and determination to set right the root cause of failures of the Congress. Naturally, the opposition for him in all forms emerged.

Becoming a mass leader is a process. It does not always happen overnight. Rahul required the support of the organisation which was under the control of group leaders who were working against him. Even after becoming President of INC, he could not freely exercise his powers.

It is not limited to becoming a mass leader. There is a need to create mass leaders at every level on the ground. It is possible if he had the freedom to implement his vision and set the process rolling for evolution, implementation of the solutions after discussions.

But the entire process was blocked, curtailed, thwarted at the outset questioning his leadership and his ability to foresee what is right and wrong or how to fight the Modi regime. Without organisational support, no one can win any game. So it continues to affect Congress.