Watch | In Haryana, Congress Didn’t Appeal to Urban Voters; ‘Chase Wealth’ Should Be Part of Its Call

In an analysis that markedly differs from what we have heard from academics, newspaper columnists and television pundits, the chairman of the All India Professionals’ Congress says his party failed to win Haryana because it failed to appeal to the state’s urban voters.

In turn, the explanation for this is that it did not convey an aspirational message that would appeal to urban voters and to young urban voters in particular. Now, Praveen Chakravarty argues, Congress must craft an aspirational appeal for urban Indians that can be conveyed side by side with its traditional appeal in terms of social justice, caste, equality, etc. Chakravarty says the two appeals are not contradictory.

In a 25-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Chakravarty gave an example or illustration of how Congress could appeal to urban voters and to young voters in particular. He said it should say: “Making money is not bad … dream to be wealthy, go chase wealth, go chase money”.

Chakravarty argued that an aspirational message would not contradict Congress’s traditional message of social justice or nyay. Rather it would complement it.