Most people analysing congress get one thing wrong. They analyse it as if it's a political party. It's not. It's a franchise business that works in politics. How does a franchise work? You have a brand (like say McD) and then because its famous many small businessman at whose +

+ restaurants no one would go, want to take advantage of this brand. So they regularly pay franchise fees to the brand owner and run the store in the brands name. Now for this model to work 2 things must be maintained. A) Brand owner must ensure that no small businessman +

+ becomes a brand on his own (else why will he need the franchise?) And B) the franchisees must keep building the brand as it directly helps their income. Now the brand in this case is the Gandhi family. The small businessmen who took their franchise have been building this +

+ brand for 70 years. Any small businessman who got big was let go (pawar,PVNR,pilot,scindia, etc). Think abt how many mass leaders you know from BJP. Congress has not single mass leader (perhaps barring captain). Its a party of lawyers and media liaisons. They know one thing +

+ that we franchisees are nothing if thw franchisor brand has no value. They have seen nothing else for 70 years so can do nothing else. You think "priyankas nose is like indiras" is silly, but it genuinely means the world to them. They have put 70 years extolling that nose!+

+ so its not silly for them, its their lifeline. So if you think that suddenly franchisee owners will think that they can do without the shiny brand they have helped build, you are sadly mistaken. What can happen now is this: Modi has severely damaged the brand. It will now +

+ command less in annual fees. Which will attract more seekers of a brand into the party. I can foresee more moneyed ppl joining congress at a local level. Its counter intuitive for us, but think of pappu halwai who has the money to fight for municpal polls in Delhi. For him +

+ he is getting a brand for less. At the same time people in Congress who were on the verge of a brand themselves ie the Scindias, the PChavans, the Captains etc will think, why should i pay anything for the brand now that its actually costing me business (votes)?! Maybe i can+

+ do business in my own name, or take franchise of another brand like @narendramodi! This bunch will actively look to get out in 1 piece. Someone like captain may wait it out because as Punjab results have proven the damaged brand has no impact on his own votes. So he need not+

+ actively agitate against they brand. He might even think that "hmm maybe i have a chance to run the head office" (but that wont happen). In effect congress can break imho, but it will not be run by a non Gandhi. Perish that thought. +

+ you underestimate the fallacy of sunk costs and the cognitive dissonance in humans. Congies wont and cant believe that they wasted generations in building a paper tiger. Its too much for the ego to bear. Cong may split or leaders may leave but the existing brand will limp on.

+Just to clarify. This does not mean congress wont die or be greatly diminished. It means the party would rather politically die or be greatly diminished than live with a non gandhi.