@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 1:22

What’s wrong with the Congress Party? In Conversation with Sanjay Jha

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And, you know, over the last week or so, the dominant or trending conversation in political circles is that whether the political consultant Prashant Kashur will join the Congress Party now, a lot of Congress supporters have been desperately hoping for the leadership to wake up and smell the coffee. And it finally seems like the party is taking some action to change and reform itself. So, Sanjay, firstly, welcome to Swell. It's very kind of you to take time out to chat with me

Sanjay is former National Spokesperson of the Congress Party #swellinterviews #indianpoliticsonthinktank

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@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 0:33

How do you view Prashant Kishore’s entry into the Congress?

So, Sanjay, I wanted to know what you made of the story. So, Prashant Kashur has a formidable track record when it comes to working with political parties and producing favorable outcomes in elections. Now, as a congressman and as someone who has actively given out suggestions and solutions to what the party can do, how do you view this development? And what are you thinking the future holds if Prashant Kashura does join the party
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@SanjayJha160291
Sanjay Jha
@SanjayJha160291 · 1:03
While I do believe that Prashant quishos coming into the Congress Party will be extremely beneficial for the Grand Old Party you need fresh ideas. The Congress Party truly would be benefit if it has a disruptive change in it the party has become extremely old fashioned and archaic. The whole political environment is dynamic. The election management systems have changed. Do we know how to manage booths? How well, at the end of the day are you choosing candidates? Are we choosing them too late? How are you raising funds?
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@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 0:29
Now, Sanjay, you've written a lot about some of the recommendations that Prashant Kashur already sort of gave out in his presentation, and one of them was the forming of a shadow cabinet. At least this is what's been sort of reported about in the public domain, what stands out to you from all the recommendations that he has made. And if you had a message for the party high command, what would it be in terms of priorities and actionables going forward in the next few elections
@SanjayJha160291
Sanjay Jha
@SanjayJha160291 · 1:11
Now these are practical suggestions that will help the Congress. I also feel that one of the suggestions that I had actually recommended a long time ago and I'm glad Krishna is backing that as well, which is to make your funding transparent, make sure that all your corporate funding, et cetera, is put up under the RTI. This will actually help the Congress, attack the BJP and take the BJP to town and say who's? Who is giving you your money for electoral bonds?
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@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 0:40
Can you speak to us about the role and maybe relevance that they still play, if any, role today in Indian politics? And what are some of your personal experiences dealing with Rahul Gandhi? And realistically, what do you think the family can play? What role can they play, given the might of the BJP today
@SanjayJha160291
Sanjay Jha
@SanjayJha160291 · 3:56
Then he was very accessible to ideas and very easy to talk to. And I do understand that as you get busy, you may not have the time, but my only disappointment has been that he surrounded himself at the moment with people who seem to be not giving him a very honest and thoughtful advice. You see, this is the challenge in politics
@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 0:24
Speaking of events that really hurt the party. Sanjay. I think the exit of Jyotrata. Sanjay and Jason Prasada and Prague, Manaka and others really, really hurt the party. So given the paucity of talent at the moment, who do you see as as the future in the Congress? I know you mentioned such a pilot, but can you elaborate on some of the names that come to mind that you think can really take the party forward
@SanjayJha160291
Sanjay Jha
@SanjayJha160291 · 1:43
So I do believe such a pilot and a Priyanka Gandhi ticket, where at the end of the day, you have principal who will satisfy a lot of the loyalists or those who don't want a non Gandhi face, while at the same time you have a Sachin, who's aggressive, who's young, who's hardworking, ambitious, and clearly can attract a lot of those people who today have begun to ignore the Congress or have become indifferent to it because they believe it's becoming too much of a private fiefdom of the Gandhi dynasty
@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 0:34
So, Sanjay, my apologies. There was a bit of a glitch in my last post. You know, I have many questions to ask you, but I thought we just wrapped this up with this one. It's hard to predict how the future of this country is going to evolve. But if you had to maybe extrapolate based on today's events, what is life going to look like after Prime Minister Narendra Modi finishes his term?
@SanjayJha160291
Sanjay Jha
@SanjayJha160291 · 0:52
They have been so far but they have been blessed by a very strong mainstream propaganda and an absence of a galvanized opposition Therefore, in my opinion, it's a matter of time but if the opposition gets its act together, principally the Congress, the story can change dramatically. So anyone who believes that the BJ fee is going to be here for decades, I would say you might as well go ahead and tell yourself that you could be living in a food Paradise
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@ThinkTank
@ThinkTank · 0:28
I think that was very well articulated, Sanjay. There are no permanent winners and losers in politics, and I think this is evidenced in the last five years or so in various state elections. So with that, I think we'll draw this conversation to a close. It's been an absolute pleasure connecting with you. As always. We're planning many more panels here in Swell in the future, and I'd love to host you and a lot of them
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