For the Grand Old Party of India, the Congress, December 16, 2017, was a historic day. Or at least that’s what the party and the media made us believe. A day on which president-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi finally got crowned for the post that had earlier been held by his mother, father, grandmother, great-grandfather and great-great grandfather.

While Rahul’s ascension was natural and expected to take place one day or the other, the Gandhi scion has actually taken charge of the Congress at a time when an arduous task lies ahead of him – that of pulling the party out of the woods it has got into since 2014, the rise of the BJP.

But for Punjab, electoral successes for the Congress have been far and few between. Yet, all hope is not lost.

The behemoth called the BJP may be clinically executing its stated mission of a “Congress-mukt Bharat” and coming close to achieving it as well, but that doesn’t mean that in a country such as India the Grand Old Party can be discounted for ever.

Known once as a party with a difference, the BJP keeps growing exponentially, and thus cannot escape afflicting itself with the trappings of power and the downsides that come with it.

As the principal opposition party in India with a national footprint, the Congress can certainly hope for its time in the sun. And Rahul Gandhi, being the heir of the “Nehru-turned-Gandhi parivar”, can also hope to become the Prime Minister of India, one day.

I am not saying this could happen in 2019 or even 2024. But being 47 years old, Rahul can certainly count on his chances sometime in the future.

Having said that, just counting on chances or luck will not be enough to resurrect the Congress and become the PM. Not in these times. And certainly not with a competitor who is developing a sense of invincibility with each election.

As the Gujarat election results 2017 show, Rahul’s stars are on the upswing but continue to betray him. He now needs a game plan for the next 20 years for his party. First, to become a formidable opposition to the BJP and then to become a credible party of governance.

At a time when Rahul takes up the mantle of president, this piece aims to provide some unsolicited advice to the Grand Old Party. That also means this has nothing to do with what has happened in Gujarat or Himachal. The advice is irrespective.

Now that the Congress has a clear face by way of Rahul Gandhi, it needs its own “model”. While it can continue to attack Narendra Modi and the BJP for all their errors, the question in the mind of the “unattached” voter is, what does Congress stand for today?

It’s my view that in general, core voters are loyal to their own parties, come what may. It’s the non-core voters who determine the swing and accordingly the winner. I have found that non-core voters by definition are ideology-agnostic and make up their minds based on what a party is for them as individuals.

The youth of today are not aware of what the Congress did and did not do when it was in power for the most part of 70 years in independent India. Modi and the BJP have been very effective in reminding these voters of the omissions and commissions of the Congress.

Hence, the Congress needs to have a positive narrative of what it could do now if it comes to power, which is different from the past and from what the BJP is doing. The easiest thing would be to showcase this in one state first.

Take up a state where you are in power. Nurture an effective leader. Focus on governance. Do all what you feel the BJP is not doing and if it is doing so, do it better. Finally, deliver, deliver and deliver. Make this a showcase. In short, make this state a model! And effectively “market” this model.

Today, the biggest issue with the Congress is its credibility. There is no state which can be shown as a success story for the Congress. The party had a great chance when it wrested back Karnataka from the BJP five years ago. But it has squandered its chances there with some lacklustre performance. As Karnataka goes to the polls in 2018, the Congress has its back against the wall.

Having missed the opportunity in Karnataka, the next bet for Rahul is to focus on Punjab, a state which the Congress wrested from the SAD-BJP combine this year. With more than four years to go for the electoral test there, the time is ripe for the Congress to demonstrate its capability and come up with its very own “Punjab model”.

It has nothing to lose and everything to gain. It has just come to power on the back of severe anti-incumbency and promise of better governance. It has got a chief minister (Amarinder Singh) who is an effective leader and who has a mind of his own. Punjab has been one of the wealthier states in the country. Agriculture and industry have been thriving. So, for the Congress to identify the gaps in governance and focus on plugging them should not be difficult.

In fact, Rahul should summon the entire might of the Congress in supporting Singh and ensure that by 2022, Punjab is No 1 in terms of economic growth, infrastructure and social indices.

And then the Congress should go for re-election with a narrative of its own “Punjab model”.

In marketing, we often talk of a concept of “One-Three-Five-Many”, by which we first successfully launch a product in one market, make it a success and then take it to three, five and then more other markets.

I see no reason why the Congress cannot follow the same. After making a success of Punjab, the party can focus on capturing other vulnerable states in 2023, such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, which would be inflicted with severe anti-incumbency and fatigue by then.

Having three to five major states in the pocket is when Congress will be in any serious position to take a shot at the Centre.

Earlier this year, immediately after BJP’s rousing win in Uttar Pradesh, former J&K CM Omar Abdullah had, in part jest and part irony, tweeted that the Opposition should forget 2019 and start planning and hoping for the 2024 general elections.

Developing a marketable “Punjab model” by 2022 could be that plan and hope. Or else, just wait for the BJP to implode.