The drubbing the Indian National Congress (INC) suffered in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was terrible but the party has recently been on a steady path of revival under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, feels parliamentarian and newly appointed Congress Working Committee (CWC) member KC Venugopal.

The Alappuzha MP is so confident that he predicts victory for his party in the three states that go to polls later this year – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. He also exuded confidence that the Congress would stop the Narendra Modi juggernaut at the Centre in the Lok Sabha polls due next year, in alliance with like-minded secular parties. The modalities of the alliances are yet to be finalized. “They will be based on the political equations of each state,” he said.

Onmanorama caught up with the leader on the sidelines of a programme organized by him at Pathirappalli in Alappuzha to honour students who performed well in board examinations. Venugopal spoke on a variety of topics - right from his induction into the decision-making body of the party, the political status of the party both at the national and state levels, the Congress-JD(S) combine in Karnataka and even Rahul Gandhi’s hug in Parliament. Excerpts:

Your induction into the CWC is a deviation from the Congress’ legacy of keeping such top posts for veterans. How do you feel being part of the top body along with senior leaders from Kerala like AK Antony, Oommen Chandy and PC Chacko?

It's a great honour. It took me back to my school days. When I was a KSU activist, I used to listen to news on AIR in the pre-television days. I used to listen to news regarding Congress Working Committee with great enthusiasm. I vividly remember news such as Syed Mukhtavi from Jammu and Kashmir raising certain demands in the CWC. From such a young age, I knew the importance of the top panel. I am fortunate to be part of such a body. I will do justice to the role and work with utmost commitment. I look at it as a recognition by tens of thousands of party workers who have been working with me since my KSU days.

The honour comes amid a historic crisis for the party. It has the lowest number of seats in Lok Sabha (44). It has been suffering from electoral defeats one after the other...

The drubbing in the last Parliament elections was terrible. Both the UPA governments had implemented a lot of welfare schemes like MGNREGS and Right to Education that were revolutionary. But unfortunately, the clouds of corruption allegations raised by the then opposition, BJP, foreshadowed the achievements of the two governments. At the same time, to be frank, Congress' organisational set up, which was supposed to overcome the allegations, was in a dead state at the grassroots level.

On the other side, a leader called Narendra Modi used latest technology and innovative campaign methods to find his way to the voters' hearts and raise hopes. Congress lost power due to these factors. But now, after the BJP government's rule for four years, the people have reversed their thought process. What has the NDA government done better than the UPA government?

You can cheat some people every time and most people sometime, but not everyone every time. Now, people have realized the truth. Modi government’s promises were all mere verbose.

On promises

Promises such as bringing back black money back to the state treasury and depositing Rs 15 lakh in everyone's account have fallen flat. Black money was neither seized nor its effects reduced. There's no result at all. The current government has only renamed the projects initiated by the UPA government. On the other hand, they are playing out a divisive agenda with mean political intentions. But people don't fall prey to such agendas these days. It's in such a circumstance that the importance of the Congress come to play. In fact, it has become the need of the country to revive the Congress. Rahul Gandhi, in the past few years, has been paying keen attention to such matters.

Can we look at your entry to CWC as part of this revival?

What I understand is there's a change in the way the party functions. In the last CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi spoke for only 15 minutes. He spoke only about the most important matters. In the remaining 5 hours, the other 50 members spoke and expressed their views. He listens to all, including workers of the Youth Congress. We have already started an organisational process to give confidence to party workers at the grassroots level and take them into confidence. Rahul Gandhi says the new generation is an inevitable part of politics. At the same time, he doesn't ignore experienced leaders. You can see a mixture of both the young and the old in the leadership now.

Are the changes brought about by Rahul perceptible at the grassroots level?

Of course. For example, in Karnataka, we organised party workers at the booth level. It's not possible to organise all of them overnight. Congress is not a cadre party. But we aim to become a cadre party at least partially and the rank and file are contributing immensely to that. Earlier, the party workers' main complaint was that there was nobody to listen to them. They say there are only orders from the top. That situation has changed now.

What was Congress' real expectation in Karnataka?

We were expecting to emerge the single largest party. We hoped to win over 100 seats, and even 110+ so that we could rule alone. When the results came, we ended up with 79. But in terms of vote share, we had won over two lakh votes than the BJP. So we can't say that Congress lost Karnataka entirely. In certain parts, Congress suffered a huge setback, especially in coastal Karnataka.

What’s the real picture of Karnataka now? Reports say there are fissures in the ruling Congress-JD(U) alliance.

There's no point in the reports. In politics, circumstances create necessities. In Karnataka, there was a fractured mandate. But in terms of votes polled, more people were in favour of the Congress. Then, the Congress gave importance to joining hands with like-minded people to defeat the communal agenda that the BJP was going to implement in the state. Hence, the Congress, with 79 seats, made an alliance with the JD(S) which had 31 seats, making their leader HD Kumaraswamy the chief minister. We don’t have an iota of doubt about taking forward the alliance. We stand by our promise. At the same time, naturally, there could be differences of opinion between the two parties. We have a mechanism in place to discuss and settle such differences of opinion. This alliance will go ahead in a robust manner.

How did the Karnataka alliance happen?

Though we were expecting the numbers to rule alone, there were some apprehensions. First, there has not been a repeat of government in Karnataka in the past 40 years. However good the governance be, a government has never come back to power during the period, even that of chief minister Devaraj Urs. The Siddaramaiah government had not faced any anti-incumbency sentiment. We thought we would return to power, but once the exit poll results were out, I had some doubts in mind. Then I suggested to the Congress president that we should have a plan B. Rahul Gandhi was also not overconfident. So, after some discussions with me, he assigned Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and Ahmed Patel to work out the alliance. He called all of us and said if we don't get absolute majority, we should not be power hungry and let the BJP grab the throne. Our aim is larger. We have been opposing the BJP government at the Centre which implements a divisive agenda. At such a juncture, we should not take a stance that helps them. We should not worry about posts and positions. Thus we worked out the alliance with the JD(S).

Do you think it was the right step to give a full-term chief ministership to the JD(S)?

Right from the beginning, we made it clear that the alliance will be unconditional. There was no big discussion over giving full-term chief ministership to the JD(S). 'Unconditional support' could be interpreted as full term CM ship as well. They can't be blamed for it. Our bigger aim was to keep the BJP away from power. With the unbelievable drama that unfolded after that, we all saw the true face of the BJP which makes claims of wiping out corruption. I was on the bus along with the MLA-elects when they got phone calls from BJP leaders including BS Yeddyurappa offering crores of rupees and Cabinet posts. With determination alone, we could overcome all the crises. When we decided to fly down to Kochi, we were denied permission. Some hotels refused to give us rooms apparently fearing the BJP. Then at night we said we would go to Pondicherry but our destination was Hyderabad. We called our MP Siddarama Reddy in Hyderabad who owns a hotel there. I asked him to arrange rooms for us but there were no rooms vacant. I said we were coming as we had no other option. Then he somehow arranged rooms there.

It was an occasion when our leadership stood together. During the tense moments, Rahul Gandhi used to call us every two hours. In fact, it was one of the strongest and courageous moves by the Congress in recent times.

How did the party review the operations in Karnataka?

It was looked upon with great hope by not only the Congress but also other parties disappointed with the BJP's hunger for power. It gave immense boost to our rank and file. May be the achievement was bigger than winning the polls.

Where does Congress stand in terms of preparations for the Lok Sabha poll which is just a few months away?

We are confident. Look at the states from where the BJP won their 275 seats. In all those states, they are facing difficulty. In southern states, they have not been able to make many inroads. It's sure that the BJP's numbers will come down. The Congress may not win the numbers to rule alone. So, we are planning to join hands with secular forces. We will formulate state-specific strategies. We will fight the elections with a people's manifesto.

Will there be a Karnataka-like 'unconditional' formula?

That question is irrelevant at this point of time. Let's see what's there to come. Now, the Congress is not bothered about who will become the prime minister. But we are confident that the Congress will perform impressively under Rahul Gandhi's leadership.

How many seats will the party win if elections happen now?

I'm not predicting any number. But it will be much more than what we have now. It may or may not touch the magic figure.

What about the Kerala scene where the party seems to be on a sticky ground?

National politics will reflect in Kerala as well. Congress is the only alternative to the BJP at the national level. There are strong regional parties. But at the national front, only we can face the BJP. Kerala discusses national politics. The advantage of Congress being the only alternative will reflect in Kerala.

Why an interim PCC president in Kerala for so long? Are you happy with the situation?

The situation will be examined. The high command is still in search of a KPCC president. Anyway, the party will not impose a leader on the members. The leader will be elected after all considerations and consultations.

Communal equations were given much importance earlier while electing leaders to top posts? Will it repeat this time as well?

Congress doesn't undermine communal balance. At the same time, nor do we elect a leader only on the basis of communal equations. A new KPCC chief will be elected very soon.

Do you think the Congress failed to cash in on favourable factors in Chengannur by-poll?

What we saw in Chengannur is a temporary scenario. In by-polls, incumbent parties always have an upper hand. However, let me make it clear that the CPM uses both majoritarian and minority appeasement as an electoral tool.

Oommen Chandy is being given prominent roles in national politics. First, he was made AICC general secretary in charge of Andhra and now a CWC member...

It’s a right decision. Oommen Chandy’s efficiency is being used at the national level at the right time. It doesn't mean that he is being sidelined in Kerala politics. He still keeps connections at the grassroots level. That he has been given charge of Andhra, where the Congress had to face a huge drubbing, is testimony to the faith the party has in him. Chandy's experience with grassroots-level work has been honoured with the top post.

What is Chandy’s Andhra mission?

We don't expect to do wonders in Andhra overnight. We had 39 seats from the state in UPA II. But the division of the state into Telangana caused resentment. Now, it is tilting towards the BJP because the party has not honoured its promises. That Chandy was able to bring back former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy to the party is being viewed with much enthusiasm. Not only in Andhra, across India, the Congress wants to bring back leaders who had left the party over dissidence.

You sit next to Rahul in Parliament. Did you know that he was going to hug PM Modi after his speech during no-trust vote debate?

Not at all. I think it was an instant reaction. Unlike his usual speeches, it was a bit emotional that day. Apart from attacking the government on a number of issues, including the murky Rafale deal, he also mentioned the personal attacks BJP leaders including Modi had been resorting to for long. I think, without the hug, the speech would not have been complete.

How did the Congress leadership react to it?

In the CWC, all the 50 members praised it. Many said it had an electrifying effect.

What are the Congress’ prospects in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh?

The Congress will win and rule all the three states. The BJP has earned much hatred from the people in all these states.

But factionalism is a huge worry in these states?

It has always been in the Congress, but when there's a common enemy and a common agenda, all warring factions forget the differences of opinion and come together.