hE omitted to be the heir. Instead, by the time he had completed his Bharat Jodo tour, Rahul Gandhi’s hair was clean. Starting the journey in Kanyakumari, the clean-shaven, young man returned from Kashmir a thickly bearded fellow.
The beard was in a way a symbol of Rahul’s journey. When he had set off on his journey, the taunts came thick and fast. “What does he think he’ll gain by taking a long walk?” was the usual response. But by the time the journey was over, no one needed to ask this question. And the tired old ‘Pappu’ taunts also seemed inappropriate and frivolous.
Of all the works done by Rahul Gandhi in the two decades since his entry into politics, nothing has been as successful as the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Despite his debacle in the media, it is not that Rahul does not have other achievements to talk about. In 2009, the Congress won 21 Lok Sabha seats in UP, a figure that no one had expected since the party had performed so poorly in previous elections. A lot of credit goes to Rahul for this.
Earlier also he had taken charge of the youth wing of Congress (NSUI and Youth Congress) and tried to impose internal electoral democracy on them. Behind the scenes, he was instrumental in supporting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s liberalization drive and even changed his mother’s views on major economic issues. (As she was the Congress President at that time and was surrounded by jholawalaIt was a significant achievement.)
And yet, when we think of ten years of Congress rule, very few of us remember any of Rahul’s achievements. His role seems a bit hazy. And only his blunders are remembered: the infamous press conference where he talked about tearing up an ordinance, times now Interview or imprecise speech about the velocity of Jupiter.
Read also: Modi is opening BJP for minorities. For this we can thank Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
doing his own
Some of it is Rahul’s own fault. It took him a long time to come to terms with what his critics have always said: he is not an organization man and he is not a good judge of individuals and their political potential. Nor does he have the statesman’s ability to hide his true feelings and make everyone he meets feel important. Congressmen had to wait for months to meet him. When appointments were made, the timing was not followed and senior people were gobbled up. And even when Rahul did meet him, it often seemed like he was not interested in what he had to say. I have lost count of the number of Congress leaders complaining, “He thinks he knows everything.” When he turned his attention to them, it was often only to lecture them.
Now consider how different things would have been if Rahul had not decided to set up an organizational person or an alternate court in Tughlaq Lane and had only accepted a ministerial berth. If he had started out as a minister of state, he would have impressed people, only gradually working his way up to full cabinet minister status. He was appreciated for his humility and willingness to learn.
There would be no suggestion that he was an alternative power center within the Congress. Nor did he have to give time to all those Congressmen who came only to pay respects and left disheartened or dejected.
What’s more, he probably would have made a fine minister. Those who know him well say he is bright and hardworking, reads widely and has a strange fascination with details that others find boring. He could work on some pet projects and show India what he is capable of.
Since he had chosen the heir apparent, the party’s boss-in-waiting, no one had any idea what his strength was. Instead, because people now saw leaders pleading before him, they came to see him as entitled and spoiled.
Had he run the ministry and kept himself busy with the work of the government, he would have looked like a strong prime ministerial candidate. Now, people think that they do not understand governance and are not ready for the serious task of running India.
Rahul Gandhi’s friends say that he never wanted to be the Prime Minister; That he is not interested in power. There are two obvious problems with this. If you lead one of India’s two most important political parties and say you are not an alternative to the current prime minister, people will ask: who will run India if we vote for the Congress? This is the reason why Sonia Gandhi never openly declared that she did not want to be the Prime Minister, although she had taken that decision early.
And the other problem is, if you don’t want the job, shouldn’t you be promoting people who can do it? Yet, the Congress has done nothing to promote any of the younger leaders who have taken a beating over Rahul.
These mistakes and misunderstandings are partly the reason for the plight of the Congress today. india todayThe ‘Mood of the Nation’ poll suggests that if elections were held today, it would be difficult for the party to cross 70 seats.
Second Chance
The success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra has given Rahul Gandhi a second chance, 19 years after he entered politics for the first time. He seems to have no organizational responsibility now and the yatra has eroded the image the BJP had promoted of him: an entitled but foolish amateur.
But where does that go from here? How does he build on the success of the India Jodi tour to carve out a new role for himself? He should know that people spoke warmly of him during the visit because the message he conveyed – India needs love and unity – was positive rather than negative. (He didn’t call anybodyThief‘ This time.) And by putting himself out there and letting strangers walk with him, seeming open and accessible, he rose above the image of entitlement.
These are good building blocks for the future. Rahul Gandhi has the most popular (and powerful) prime minister since Indira Gandhi. Unlike Gandhi, who was in trouble only four years after the 1971 landslide, Modi is Teflon coated: voters seem ready to forgive him for anything because he is seen as honest and well-intentioned.
There was no way a dynasty could take on such a leader. But now, with the change in the way he is perceived, Rahul Gandhi finally has a chance. It’s a long shot, of course. But still politics is the art of making the impossible possible.
Vir Shanghvi is a print and television journalist and talk show host. He tweeted @virsangvi. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)