'Hard to combat 24/7 politics BJP is playing'

Mathew Antony says it straight

With Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia entering the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fold, Mumbai's advocate Mathew Antony, National Executive Committee Member of AICC Social Media and Digital Communications Department, speaks out on his party teetering on the knife edge.

The simmering dissent in Madhya Pradesh was evident for a while now...
Antony: There was always pressure. Though there were murmurs about Jyotiraditya Scindia, one never thought he would embrace an extremist ideology for personal gains. Kamal Nath is now trying to save the situation and is confident of doing so.

There was talk earlier too about Scindia's disillusionment with the party...
Antony: There was dissent but Scindia leaving the party is not in good taste. His levels of engagement with the party also had been questionable of late. There is no doubt that he was one of the most popular leaders within but Congress operates on the principle that two or more diverse views can co-exist within a party.

What do you think was the deal breaker for Scindia? When did you think he felt he had to go?
Antony: I think Scindia felt pressure from workers within the party. They felt that their work was not getting enough acknowledgment or recognition. In fact, they had started to question his leadership.

A complete shift of ideology seems to have less value today.
Antony: The Congress finds it hard to combat the 24/7 politics that the BJP is playing. The Congress cannot throw away secularism, Scindia has chosen to go to a party that values fundamentalism. The BJP is driving the entire politics of this country like it's a commercial trading business.

You can't blame the BJP for everything. If people are being lured, they want to be lured and the Congress needs to look within?
Antony: From 2014, we had a disconnect and disengagement with the electorate and the Congress was surprised by the extraordinary marketing of the Modi government. Globally, we see governments based on bold, decisive leadership against a tried and tested, consultative, slow decision-making leadership. It is a question of adapting to a new style of leadership without diluting the ideology.

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