The gloomy groupies at 24 Akbar Road

May 14, 2014

New Delhi: On any given day for the last ten years, 24 Akbar Road, which houses the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, has not looked so deserted. Since the exit polls predicted a complete rout for the Congress, this seat of power in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, is left to contemplate on past glory. For those who live off their proximity to 24 Akbar Road, the future is uncertain.

Most rooms in the office are locked, no senior party member available: only Tom Vadakkan of the communication department was seen chatting with some reporters in the middle. The discussion veered from the Congress rout to the Modi wave. Mr Vadakkan, clearly uncomfortable with the topic at hand, kept his calm but went into his office quickly.

Meanwhile Congress beat reporters had their own worries. “There is big difference between being the beat reporter of the party in power and covering the opposition,” a reporter who has covered the Congress for the last eight years said. “When you cover the most important political party, you are automatically get more importance in your organization. If the Congress goes out of power, the beat reporters will also lose value. The tag of the one being in the middle of the power circle would be lost.”

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, tried to put up a brave face in the press conference announcing victory and citing the unreliability of exit polls. Rahul Gandhi’s key aide Meenakshi Natarajan, party candidate from Mandsaur, walked into the party office but left without speaking to anyone. Some party officials promised a battery of party leaders for the results on 16th May.

But the mood is somber at AICC canteen, Shree Rathnam, known for its south Indian delicacies. Today, there were not many takers for their idli-sambhar, vada and uttapam. Most of those having their meals were either security men or media-persons who were waiting for the press conference to be addressed by party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The usual hangers-on, favor seekers and party faithful are missing.

“The place remains full most of the time, though they are saying things will change after results,” said the boy serving tea at the canteen. “People from all over the country used to flock the office, but now our business will go down if the Congress is out of power.”

The tea vendor and party flag seller outside the AICC gate were also tense. “We earn our daily living from this,” said the tea vendor, an eight-year old whose father normally mans their little stall. “We want people to keep coming in here, otherwise we will have a very tough time.”

And there are the die-hards who still have not lost faith. “The Congress party will win and one of the Gandhis will be the next prime minister of the country,” yelled Jaikishan Agarwal, who claims to be working for the party since 1999, sitting outside the gate in his Gandhi cap and Congress scarf. “The media is sold out, they are predicting wrong results and this is not the first time. They predicted we will lose in 2004 and 2009 too. It’s a conspiracy to break the country, a conspiracy which will be exposed and punctured.”

- This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on May 14, 2014