It is difficult to take anything related to Rahul Gandhi seriously anymore. There was a time when he was projected as the ‘Hope for Future’—the Leader who would transform not only his party but also galvanise India like his father, grandmother and great-grandfather had done in their time. But, then for reasons best known to him, he chose to renounce power, or to put it more honestly, opted for power without responsibility.
He refused to join the Cabinet but couldn’t resist the temptation to speak out of turn criticising the decisions of the government led by his own party humiliating the self-effacing Dr Manmohan Singh more than once. The deadly combination of arrogance and ignorance has resulted in irreversible erosion of credibility.
Today only congenital sycophants can enthusiastically laud his ‘election’ to the top post in the party. To all other objective observers, this much-delayed ‘coronation’ is an exercise in utter futility. Like another ‘Crown Prince in Waiting’, RaGa too has aged but alas not mellowed like good wine.
This isn’t a moment of crowning glory but an insignificant event in dynastic succession in an erstwhile ruling family after the abolition of its princely estate. Pretentions persist but the power and glory are gone.
Lacking both the required education and experience, Rahul appears totally ill-equipped to inspire or lead. There are many ‘stars’ in his own party who shine brighter than this ‘Son’.
This isn’t the place to go into the details of the anti-Midas touch this scion of Nehru-Gandhi clan has displayed. His lack of interest in Parliamentary proceedings with a penchant for photo-ops or sound bites when tragedy strikes with a remarkable loss of interest in following up with anything substantial has made him a butt of jokes—been there, done nothing. And to top it all, he intriguingly disappears from public view with by now monotonous regularity. He, like anyone else, is entitled to his privacy but for someone in public life this is a luxury that can only be enjoyed rarely. But we digress.
The question that needs to be addressed is that does the ‘elevation’ or ‘promotion’—call it what you like—change anything at all? Sonia Gandhi hasn’t been in pink of health for quite some time and ‘senior leaders’ in the Congress party have looked at Rahul for directions. None has had the courage to express a difference of opinion or register dissent. Most have silently suffered humiliation and the few who couldn’t continue the ji huzoori were unceremoniously sidelined.
It was the sheer incompetence and lack of charisma that has repeatedly routed the Congress in electoral battles with Rahul at the helm. The ships sank but the Captain always managed to remain afloat. The organisation is in a shambles in all the states with no hope of a revival in near future. It is difficult for the people of India to get enthusiastic about the leader of a party that gloats over its glorious past remaining oblivious of its present plight.
Rahul has failed to articulate any alternative vision that can match the rhetoric of PM Modi. After bragging about preparing for the ‘Long Haul’ and declaring the intent of ‘Going Alone’, RaGa has had to eat his words and rely on crutches more than once. Had Hardik Patel not been there, even the ripples would have been missing. It is difficult to imagine how the new headgear will energise the man who is being adorned with it.
Those who are born to rule don’t await ceremonial coronations—they audaciously seize the crown and put it on their heads. However, eagerness to jump where angels fear to tread—a quality RaGa has in abundant measure—is not to be confused with admirable audacity.
Not long ago, speaking to students on a foreign university campus, Rahul had commented (not very originally) on the dynastic nature of Indian society anticipating and deflecting any personal criticism. Let there be no misunderstanding. None of the foregoing is to blame the accident of birth for the resounding failure of Rahul Gandhi. Nor can the image makeover experts and spin-doctors be held responsible for all the inanities that render the trajectory of an unguided missile unpredictable.
The secular followers are dumbstruck when the not so young man goes on a temple darshan spree in Gujarat and his lieutenants reassure us that he is a janeudhari Hindu. ‘Hindu’ is understandable but why the reference to the Sacred Thread? The traditional caste mark of the ‘twice born’ isn’t exactly an egalitarian symbol.
The adage has it, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. In this case, it is the tinsel crown that is likely to be uneasy on so restless a head.
Pushpesh Pant
Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
pushpeshpant@gmail.com