An analysis of two ideologies within the Congress and the party's subsequent inability to choose between or integrate them has received Shashi Tharoor's recognition on X. Congress' Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor has been in the spotlight for a few months over what has been called a widening rift between him and the grand old party.
In the latest episode, he has shared an analysis of the contrasting ideological tendencies between him and Rahul Gandhi, terming it 'thoughtful' and 'fair'.
Tharoor said, "Thank you for this thoughtful analysis. There has always been more than one tendency in the party; your framing is fair and reflective of a certain perception of the current reality."
What was the analysis?
An X user wrote a long thread on X stating that their are two ideological tendencies in the Congress party - one of 90's era urban tendency to which Tharoor broadly aligns and the other of mass mobilisation and rural tendency of post 2010, arguing that the former is oriented to policy, institution and competence while the latter is a 'devastative shift' oriented to challenge BJP's dominance.
The post read, "Tharoor broadly aligns with a 90's era Congress tendency that was urban-facing, institutionally oriented, and reform-compatible. This orientation emerged during economic transition and elite-led governance, not as virtue, but as a historical circumstance."
Placing him in the league of OV Narsimha Rao, Manmohan Singh and others, the analysis read, "Figures like PV Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh (Fin. Min. term), SM Krishna, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia operated within this framework. Their politics relied on policy, institutions, and administrative competence, not mass mobilisation or cultural embedding."
"It is these very same urban technocratic leaders that the INC repeatedly sidelines again and again. All of these aforementioned leaders gained more recognition and respect from the RW, than the party themself in today's INC era," the post added.
Rahul's ideological tendency is 'rural, grievance-driven'
Contrasting with this, Rahul Gandhi, he argued, "represents a different strategic turn: Congress’s post-2010 attempt to reposition itself as a rural, grievance-driven mass party to counter BJP dominance. This was a reactive, yet devastating shift that can be shown through the electoral results themselves.
Hitting out at the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress, the analysis post argued, "The most ironic part of it all is that the individual leading this rural turn is among the most elite and insulated figures in Indian politics. Born into a dynastic family, symbolic rural politics without lived or organisational depth lacks any credibility."
In the analysis, the user reflects on the recent rift between Congress and Tharoor, calling it only more visible now. "Many on the Right are merely noticing it now because of the reactive ostracisation efforts of the mainstream INC. Like the urban technocratic leaders of the past, he is being sidelined by this new INC," the analysis post read.