Rahul will need to deliver - and fast
Saturday July 21, 2012 12:46:42 PM, M.R.
Narayan Swamy, IANS
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For a political party
bruised by corruption scandals, charges of poor governance and
electoral defeats, Rahul Gandhi will have to be a miracle man to
help restore the health of the Congress, India's oldest political
party.
Three years ago, the 42-year-old did have stature, largely due to
the overall performance of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections
and its remarkable run in Uttar Pradesh.
Instead of capitalizing on the goodwill he had earned then, the
young Gandhi squandered it away, by repeatedly turning down
suggestions that he play a bigger role in the Manmohan Singh
government. Had he joined the government at the start of UPA-II,
Gandhi would have had three years of administrative experience by
now, a vital necessity for one seen as a possible prime minister
of the world's second most populous country.
Naturally, the announcement now by Gandhi that he was ready to
play a proactive role in both the government and the Congress
hasn't ignited the sparks it was expected to.
At one level, what Gandhi has said is not surprising. It was
always clear that he was the chosen successor in a party
controlled by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty since the time India gained
independence. That he is already the de facto number two in the
Congress is also not in doubt. Whatever his designation, it is
Rahul Gandhi who counts the most in the Congress after his mother
and president Sonia Gandhi. His word is supreme.
So if he is named the "working president", it will be a mere
nomenclature. That is what he is now for all practical purposes
and intent.
Despite being a member of parliament since 2004 and one of the
general secretaries of the Congress since 2008, Rahul Gandhi's
overall performance in the Lok Sabha and elsewhere has been below
par.
After some initial hopes, he also failed to inject life into the
Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India (NSUI).
No doubt, he overcame initial hiccups as he entered politics when
he was frequently compared with his charismatic younger sister
Priyanka. As he began to play a larger role, he did gain public
support. Many thought he had charm.
He won admirers by refusing to hanker after a government post -
when any could have been his for the asking - for the five years
of UPA-I.
When the 2009 Lok Sabha battle was waged, he led from the front in
Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress had been virtually written off,
and pulled off a coup. The Congress finished second after the
Samajwadi Party.
By then whispers of Rahul-should-be-PM had started in the
Congress. This was when Gandhi should have taken the plunge.
Instead, he chose to be outside the government.
Today, if Gandhi were to become the Congress president or assume a
major role in the government, only then would it be deemed
significant.
But it would not necessarily fetch more votes for the Congress.
Indeed, it could even prove to be a liability for the younger
Gandhi as he would pay the price for the government's present
battered image.
In politics, innate strength and abilities do mater; dynasty can
help, only up to a point.
Whatever Rahul Gandhi does now, he will have to deliver - and
fast. The next Lok Sabha election won't be easy for the Congress.
And it is less than two years away.
M.R. Narayan Swamy is Executive Editor at IANS. The
views expressed are personal. He can be reached on narayan.swamy@ians.in
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