4 Reasons why Congress MLAs get poached easily

So Congress MLAs in Rajasthan also appear to be under threat now.

The big question is why does the Congress party has one of the highest attritions and defections amongst all parties? Whether it is MP, Karnataka, Goa, Most NE States or Gujarat. Here are 4 reasons why

  1. Lack of Ideological Focus: BJP for example attracts candidates from various streams within the party – RSS, ABVP, BMS and other allied organisations. Amongst them, the RSS tends to be quite ideological (something that goes beyond personal financial needs). These candidates backed by the RSS offer tremendous ideological balance to the BJP. Same with the Leftists as well. But for the Congress, many of them join the Congress party usually as student leaders or associates of elected members. The driving force is either power or money, not the desire to rise above one’s own greed. It is not that everyone in Congress is corrupt or everyone in BJP is clean but just the balance is unfavorable for the Congress. This causes MLAs to take decisions on the basis of money/ power more often than most other parties
  2. Party Funding: Congress party Funds remain across many party members unlike BJP and most regional dynastic parties where the funds are located with few. What this has ensured is that Congress has attracted people who see joining that party as an opportunity to quickly make money. This also makes them susceptible to money offers by other parties
  3. Weak Central leadership: Unlike regional dynastic parties and even BJP, the congress does not have the ability to control/manage senior leadership at the State. So when State level senior leadership acts immaturely they tend to alienate MLAs who feel they have not got a fair hearing . They feel defection could be the best solution.
  4. Lack of Merit Culture: All Political parties suffer from lack of a good performance management system which makes party ticketing a complex process. However, when a party attracts people with limited ideological bias, a lack of merit culture creates a culture of dissidence and factionalism. This causes many to leave the party

The Congress party will continue to suffer unless the restructuring is deep and wide. Still a long way for this to even Start.