The article assumes that Rahul Gandhi might play a ‘bigger role’ in the near future with a portfolio in the Cabinet or in the party. Whatever the scenario be, it is a now or never time ala Rahul Gandhi for the Congress Party. With most parties gearing up for 2014, if the Gandhi scion fails to espouse national interest now, it might be that he would fail to be seen as a prime ministerial candidate. Not that if he whips up a large-scale interest will he be near that coveted chair. But then that would be a matter of chance.
Rahul Gandhi, I feel, is viewing politics in India as garbage filled dump which he can clean by doing some token cleaning himself and for the rest of the huge pile by applying best management techniques. He probably views his role as a messiah more who would install a system in place which generations will follow to clean up politics. However noble the intentions be, the fact remains that until now he has failed to show any result.
Mr. Gandhi might understand the power his name carries, he might understand that seats and wins is not what politics finally boils down to, he might understand that sycophants in his own party are difficult to deal with that the people en masse, but he also does not understand that a mere name alone cant get you unquestioned for too long, he does not understand that electoral politics has its own pulls and pressures and he does not understand that this coterie is probably not guiding him right.
The grand old party might be rearing imaginations of propping up Rahul baba’s name and have the country swoon after him and elect him to the PM post; while such an announcement will bear some advantage, compounded by the likelihood that the opposition will fail to go to polls with its PM candidates name, it certainly cannot be a clincher. His problem since the beginning has been poor rally crowd to vote transformation and it still remains so.
People at large have become so distraught with the affairs in the country or that is what the perception is, that a few ‘magic wand’ moments are essential to capture their imaginations. Will Rahul Gandhi break free of all shackles, change his modus operandi and provide those moments to the nation in another year? Or will he resort to the populist measure politics with whipping up the name ‘Rahul Gandhi – naam to suna hi hoga’? Only time will tell.
I’m with the Economist on this one. He doesn’t know what he’s doing most of the time (always depending upon others for every decision and response) and if he is our best Prime Ministerial candidate, then god help us all