Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s memoir Azaad: An Autobiography revealed several truths about the dynasty politics prevailing inside the Congress party. Of course, the exit of now Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma from the grand old party in 2015 to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) explains much about the arrogance of a self-styled prince in the Congress party. Azad revealed it was Rahul Gandhi who nullified the decision taken by the party leaders, including then party president Sonia Gandhi to elevate Himanta Biswa Sarma as Assam CM in 2014. Party leaders feared that the most efficient and influential leader of the Congress party in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, might leave the party, but Rahul Gandhi’s reaction was, “let him go”. Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “He (Rahul) took the decision in favour of the then Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi despite Himanta Biswa Sarma having the support of 45-plus MLAs. It was without knowing the consequences the party might face in the entire North East in the coming days.”
Dynasty Politics
When Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the Congress, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “I had said a time would come when only the Gandhis would be left in the Congress, and all loyals would leave. This is what is happening. The problem in the Congress is that everybody knows Rahul Gandhi is immature, whimsical and unpredictable, but the Congress president is not taking care of the party. She has been trying to promote Rahul Gandhi, who is a blessing for the BJP.”
Azad revealed in his memoir that Sonia Gandhi immediately summoned him to Delhi in August 2014 when he was in Srinagar. Sonia Gandhi entrusted Azad, Ahmed Patel and CP Joshi to end the crisis in Assam emerged after the dissidence of almost 50 MLAs under the leadership of then Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The party leadership asked Himanta Biswa Sarma to show his support and 45 MLAs stood for him. Only ten MLAs spoke in favour of CM Tarun Gogoi and some said they would obey the party decision. Sonia Gandhi and the party leadership decided to elevate Himanta Biswa Sarma as the new CM and Azad was to fly to Guwahati to announce it. But suddenly Rahul Gandhi stepped in to alter the Congress high command’s decision. Ghulam Nabi Azad wrote in his autobiography, “Rahul told us bluntly that there would be no change in leadership. We pointed out to him (Rahul) that Himanta had the majority of MLAs and would rebel and quit the party. ‘Let him go,’ Rahul said.” The meeting was over.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on April 9, said that he will file defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his tweet linking the CM with the Adani group
The whole crisis started in Assam after the entry of Tarun Gogoi’s son Gaurav Gogoi in Assam’s politics after the victory in the 2011 Assembly election. Junior Gogoi’s interference in departmental matters did not go down well with the Ministers, especially with Himanta Biswa Sarma. CM Tarun Gogoi was promoting son Gaurav as the new face of the party. The Gandhi family loyalist was well supported by self-styled prince of Congress Rahul Gandhi. To prove the rumour, Gaurav Gogoi was awarded a party ticket in 2014 General Election from Kaliabor constituency replacing his own uncle. His only credential at that time was that he was son of a CM and Gandhi family loyalist. In July 2014, Himanta Biswa Sarma resigned as a Cabinet Minister of the Gogoi Government. For the next one year, the master strategist remained silent and in August 2015 he along with ten Congress MLAs joined BJP. In his 1,600 word resignation letter to the party president, Sarma wrote, “Rahul Gandhi was arrogant to me and Assam Congress MLAs who wanted Tarun Gogoi’s ouster, and said it was his prerogative to change Chief Ministers. He believed he was mightier than the people of Assam. He is self-serving and insecure and has whimsical idiosyncrasies. My wife and I were humiliated. The party promotes despotic family politics. It betrayed the people of Assam.”
The Consequences
Azad, in his memoir, pointed the finger at Rahul Gandhi for his mismanagement of the Himanta Biswa Sarma situation and said that it finally led to the downfall of the Congress in Assam and the entire North Eastern region.
After quitting the grand old party in 2015, Himanta Biswa Sarma not only ensured the defeat of Congress party in the 2021 Assam election, but also worked towards knitting alliances with regional parties across the North East to gradually wipe out Congress from the region, said Azad. BJP, which identified the potential of Dr Sarma and his close proximity with key leaders of the region, immediately made him convenor of the newly formed North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). Starting with Assam in 2016, Himanta Biswa became a key strategist to wipe out the Congress from the North Eastern States in the coming years. Just five years after leaving the Congress, Himanta Biswa Sarma became the Assam CM in 2021 after ensuring BJP’s second successive victory in the State.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma once famously said, Rahul Gandhi was more interested in his pet dog ‘Pidi’ rather than solving the party’s deep internal crisis. The then Assam CM Tarun Gogoi, dissident MLAs leader Himanta Biswa Sarma and other top party leaders were discussing the Assam crisis at Rahul Gandhi’s place. In between the serious discussion, Gandhi was playing with his pet dog. The dog was picking biscuits from the guests’ plates. But it was just a fun game for Rahul amid the discussion of a deep crisis in a ruling State of the Congress party.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said in an interview with ANI that Rahul Gandhi is not fit for politics and has no systematic seriousness. Everything starts with non-seriousness and then comes his arrogance. “This moment he is talking to you, the next moment he will go outside for jogging or in some other room, while you will keep waiting for him”, CM Sarma said. n
