Chintan Shivir: The Congress’ desire to reclaim the “nationalist” space from the Bharatiya Janata Party

*Paromita Das
The Congress’ desire to reclaim the “nationalist” space from the Bharatiya Janata Party is one big, overarching narrative emerging from Chintan Shivir in Udaipur (BJP).

At the ongoing Udaipur Chintan Shivir, this narrative is playing out on multiple levels.

The majority of the Congress’ assertion of nationalism stems from discussions in the committee on “political issues” chaired by Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

Indeed, some leaders at the political issues committee meeting stated that the goal was not to “reclaim” nationalism. but rather to assert that the “Indian National Congress represents Indian Nationalism” and that the BJP represents a “distortion” or “pseudo-nationalism.”

According to the Political Issues Committee, Congress represents Indian nationalism.

According to a party leader on the political issues committee, Kharge began deliberations by speaking passionately for over 20 minutes about how Congress stands for “true nationalism.”

The 430 or so delegates have been divided into six groups, with approximately 70 assigned to each of the six committees.

As a result, approximately 70 leaders, including the nine members of the political issues committee, were present in the political issues huddle on Friday.

For about 40 minutes, Congress President Sonia Gandhi attended the political issues committee meeting. “It was a sizable crowd. She sat off to the side, not in the centre, and let the other leaders do the majority of the talking “said a party leader in attendance

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi also spent about 30 minutes at the political issues meeting. He moved from committee to committee, attending almost all of their meetings.

From 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the political issues committee met almost nonstop. For more than three hours, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel participated in the discussions.

During this time, nearly half of the 70 leaders assigned to the group spoke, with the remainder expected to speak on Saturday. The majority of those who spoke agreed that the Congress’ nationalist credentials should be asserted and that the BJP’s “pseudo-nationalism” should be “exposed.”

The political issues group’s discussion of nationalism was also reflected in Kharge’s remarks during the press conference on Friday.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge “They (the BJP), their party, and their Sangh leaders were nowhere to be found during the freedom struggle. They did not go to jail and made no attempts. Nonetheless, the BJP attempts to instil patriotism in the Congress.”
“Where were you during the Quit India movement, if you are true patriots? Where were you when Gandhi Ji led mass movements? “He inquired.

‘Nationalism is about more than just freedom and security.’

The leaders’ view that Congress’ “nationalist” credentials should not be limited to its role in the freedom struggle was a key aspect of the discussions in the political issues group.

They claimed that it should be extended to “national security” and key achievements such as the 1971 war victory or what the party calls “sacrifices” made by its leaders.

In his remarks, Kharge made a point of mentioning not only Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, but also former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla.
“We’ll tell people what we’ve done and what we’ve given up,” Kharge said.

Leaders told the political issues committee that the BJP should not be allowed to give the impression that it is the party to trust on national security issues.

The leaders claimed that the Congress had a better track record on national security and that this should be effectively communicated to the BJP.

“We are the party that led India to three victories over Pakistan. Kandahar was an embarrassment for them (BJP). Now China is threatening our territory, and the Prime Minister is too afraid to even mention China’s name. We must effectively communicate this “a leader stated.

The Chintan Shivir’s Optics: Icon Diversity

The optics of the Udaipur Chintan Shivir show the Congress’ desire to reclaim nationalist space from the BJP.

In the 2013 Jaipur Chintan Shivir, for example, the background flex on the main stage featured three images: Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and Rahul Gandhi.

This time, instead of party leaders, the flex displayed on the stage for press conferences featured artwork from Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March.
The approach road to the Chintan Shivir venue in Udaipur is dotted with horizontal flexes containing images and quotes of freedom fighters such as Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Patel, Sarojini Naidu, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Lala Lajpat Rai, as well

In response to the BJP’s attempts to appropriate icons and criticism that Congress has historically placed too much emphasis on the Nehru-Gandhi family, the party appears to have made it a point to project a diverse set of icons. However, the party appears to be attempting to project ideological diversity within the nationalist space, from Shaheed Bhagat Singh on the Left to Dr Rajendra Prasad, Lala Lajpat Rai, and PV Narasimha Rao on the Right.

The Congress appears to want to return to occupying a broad Center space in politics, on issues such as national security, cultural nationalism, and the economy.

“We have given the impression that we have ceded this broad centrist, nationalist space to the BJP. The Congress owns this space. This location best represents India “According to a leader involved in the political issues committee’s discussions.