Jitu Patwari Takes MP Congress’s Government Formation Claim to 500%

Madhya Pradesh Congress presidents have changed and party faces have changed, but one political line has remained constant: “This time, once the Congress government is formed, BJP leaders will be investigated.” What has changed is the percentage attached to the claim of forming the government. The claim has moved from 100 per cent to 200 per cent and now, under state Congress president Jitu Patwari, has reached 500 per cent.

The issue has once again brought attention to the Congress’s repeated claim that it will form the government in Madhya Pradesh. Along with this claim, the promise of ordering investigations against BJP leaders after coming to power has also remained a regular part of the party’s political attacks.

The story began during the tenure of former state Congress president Kamal Nath. In the election atmosphere, claims of forming the government went beyond 100 per cent and reached 200 per cent. However, the election results presented a different picture from the ground suggested by those claims.

After that, the leadership changed and the responsibility of the state Congress came into the hands of Jitu Patwari. Patwari went further than the previous record in making such claims. The figure moved directly from 200 per cent to 500 per cent. This time, the Congress claim of forming the government reached 500 per cent.

The question, however, is not only about how big the claim is. Dreaming of forming a government is not wrong. Big claims and ambitious targets can also be important for creating enthusiasm among party workers. But the bigger question is whether a government can be formed only through announcements, or whether it also requires winning the trust of the people.

This is where the biggest question about the Congress’s politics arises.

Whenever elections approach, Congress leaders claim that an atmosphere has developed against the BJP government. Crowds are seen at public meetings, issues against the government are listed, and confidence is expressed that the people will bring about a change this time.

But after the results, the picture is different. Instead of a review of the defeat, questions begin to be raised about EVMs and the election process. This raises the question of where the Congress is repeatedly falling short.

The Congress will have to ask itself the biggest question: if the people are not supporting the party as expected again and again, where exactly is the weakness?

Is there a problem in the organisation? Is the party’s ground-level hold weak? Is the Congress unable to take its message to the people? Or does the party become active only at election time and fail to build political ground during the five years?

Until answers to these questions are found, the impact of simply saying, “Next time, our government will be formed,” will be decided by the people.

The Congress has continued to accuse the BJP of making promises and offering inducements. But another question also remains: when the Congress itself goes before the people with promises and schemes, why is it unable to build trust in its claims?

The challenge before the Congress is not limited to competing with the BJP. Before that, the party will have to create a stronger base within its own organisation. Bringing senior leaders, different factions and workers in the state onto one platform has remained a challenge for the Congress for a long time.

Elections are not won through slogans alone. Whether the claim of forming the government is 100 per cent, 200 per cent or 500 per cent, the final decision is not made by the percentage. It is made by the people’s vote.

This is the point at which the Congress will have to move beyond its old claims and prove whether it is only dreaming of forming the government or is also preparing the ground to make that dream possible.