Rahul Gandhi's last chance to silence his detractors

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, often mocked in the media as the president perpetually in waiting, carries the heaviest burden on his shoulders amongst Indian politicians. The burden of saving a 132-year-old party which, in spite its historic role in India’s freedom struggle and having produced six Prime Ministers since Independence, seems sliding towards oblivion; its nationwide political domination has been shrinking since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. The burden of carrying forward the legacy of a family whose members fought for India’s Independence; three of them served as India’s PM for over 35 years and contributed to India’s development after the “era of darkness” of the British Raj but are widely blamed today for having pursued economic policies which resulted in the infamous licence and permit raj and the Hindu rate of growth that retarded India’s economic progress. Burden of reinventing and rebranding his party which faces existential crises but still clings on to a “dynasty”. Burden of re-energising the party cadre, which, having witnessed a succession of electoral defeats, looks demoralised, defeated and incapable of connecting with the people and wining back their trust; it lacks guts, stamina and resilience of a fighting force. Burden of proving that he isn’t a reluctant politician. He isn’t a “Pappu” or a “Shehzada” either! On the contrary, having inherited the political genes of three Prime Ministers, he has the DNA not only to lead the Congress Party, but God willing, the entire nation.

But his toughest test is how to counter a shrewd Prime Minister, who enjoys 82 per cent favourable opinion of the masses. With exceptional oratorical skills and ability to connect with people, he inspires his party workers with imaginative vision, supreme confidence, inexhaustible energy, incorruptibility and proven leadership qualities. He has announced hundreds of schemes: Make in India; Digital India; Start-up India, Stand up India; Jan Dhan Yojana; Ujwala; Saubhagya; Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao; Smart Cities; bullet trains, etc, which have catapulted him as the mascot of India of 21st century and draw voters to his party even if many of his schemes haven’t produced desired results. He has an envious talent to convince people that his decisions were for their good even if their implementation might have caused them hardships and inconvenience as was the case with demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax. While the initial euphoria and buzz might have dimmed and a degree of disillusionment might be setting in, few question his initiatives or his good intentions.

A large part of the negativity about Mr Gandhi in the media and in the minds of millions of Indians is his own creation. He has been in the active politics for over a decade now. When numerous announcements about his coronation as the Congress president didn’t materialise, an impression was created that he wasn’t really interested in the rough and tumble of Indian politics. He toured extensively to discover India ala his great grandfather but his advice to ordinary people to grow at “Jupiter speed” and decision to sleep at Kalavati’s home in Amethi with the British foreign secretary left many flabbergasted, they wondered if he understood anything about Indian society. Ironically, Kalavati didn’t vote for his party in the election. When he angrily tore away the ordinance introduced by Manmohan Singh who was abroad, it raised doubts about his temperament and his respect for the institution of Prime Minister. His much-touted interview with Arnab Goswami intended to burnish his image was a mistake;
Mr Gandhi looked everything but prime ministerial! His unannounced absence for long period abroad when his party was having hard time at home reflected his disinterest in his party’s fortunes. His performance in Parliament was lacklustre, he couldn’t speak extempore for 10 minutes; he was seen reading an Urdu couplet written on a paper. His boast that his revelations about Mr Modi’s involvement in corruption will bring about an earthquake turned out to be a damp squib. Mr Modi mocked him: “Aakhir bhookamp aa hi gaya!”

He has been Congress’ main campaigner but his energetic efforts haven’t produced major electoral victories except in Bihar and Punjab. But in Bihar, the Congress was a minor player; it was Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar show. And in Punjab, the victory belonged to Captain Amarinder Singh.

So, Mr Gandhi must first dispel this negativity. Can he do it? Going by the positive response to his speeches at the prestigious American universities like Yale, MIT, Harvad and interaction with Indian Americans, he seems to have come off age. He was confident, articulate and well prepared. He spoke in a coherent and logical manner; he came across as a responsible politician with a potential to grow. Of late, he has embraced some Modi traits: speaking with ordinary men and women in their lingo and raising local issues, which resonate with them. He has dared to go to Mr Modi and Amit Shah’s bastion in Gujarat and tried to connect with Muslims, dalits, farmers, the unemployed youth and small traders and daily wage earners and exploit their anger against demonetisation and the GST.

As a politician, he is undergoing a metamorphosis: speaks aggressively using barbs like Gabbar Singh Tax (GST) & Shajada (Amit Shah’s son Jai). Even if this born again Rahul Gandhi fails to form the government in Gujarat, a reasonably good show by the Congress will dent Mr Modi’s invincibility.

During his recent tour to the US, Mr Gandhi didn’t utter the word corruption even once. However, the fact remains, if the UPA-2 wasn’t perceived by public as corrupt, the party might have won more parliamentary seats in 2014 elections. With Robert Vadra and National Herald cases still being investigated, corruption charges can’t be wished away. So, Mr Gandhi must form a team of honest, young politicians who have empathy with common people and understand their problems and concerns and are capable to challenge Mr Modi in public, in Parliament and on social media with solid facts and sound arguments, who are genuinely interested in strengthening the Congress and not driven by lust for power and money.

It’s Mr Gandhi’s last chance to silence his detractors with his actions and leadership. Brandishing a long list of failures of the Modi government won’t help. Does he have a counter-narrative, which will nudge people to have a fresh look at the Congress as a viable alternative to the BJP? Can Bihar formula be replicated? Is he prepared for a grand coalition without insisting to be its leader? Can Mr Gandhi breach the Tina (there is no alternative) factor built around Mr Modi? Next one year might throw an answer.

The writer is a retired Indian diplomat