New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) Some called him the reluctantheir.
But Rahul Gandhi, who has been taking the Narendra Modigovernment on with uncharacteristic vigour in recent weeks,may finally have emerged out of the shadows of his mother,Sonia Gandhi.
The 47-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family wastoday elected president of the Congress party. The onlycandidate in the fray, he will formally take over the reins ofthe 132-year-old party from his mother on December 16.
For Gandhi, the challenge is enormous. The Congress hasbeen struggling to grab political space, and the Amethi MP hasto steer the party at a time when the BJP has been gainingground - and states.
The Congress party's 16th president since independence --the fifth from the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the post after1947 -- was ushered into politics when he won the Amethi LokSabha seat in 2004. The party made him its general secretaryin 2007 and vice-president in 2013.
His initial years as vice-president were difficult ones-- Rahul was criticised for practising politics of fits andstarts, and of taking long breaks even in critical times.
But while politics may or may not have been his calling,it was certainly in his blood.
Starting from his great-great grandfather Motilal Nehru,the party has been tightly held by his ancestors, includinggreat-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, grandmother Indira Gandhi,father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi, who steered theparty for a record 19 years.
His easy elevation is also unsurprising, given the tacitunderstanding that the mantle must pass from Gandhi to Gandhi.
In the initial years, it seemed Rahul -- who had seen theassassination of his grandmother and father -- wanted to steerclear of the murky world of politics.
Gandhi, who went to St Stephen's College in Delhi andthen to Harvard and Rollins College in Florida and TrinityCollege, Cambridge, joined the Monitor Group, a consultinggroup in London, where he worked for three years.
But after than it had to be back home, to the politicalrole carved out for him.
Gandhi's electoral record has been dismal. Since hebecame Congress vice-president in 2013, the party has lostpower in state after state and is left with only five.
But Congress leaders hope he would draw the party out ofthe quagmire it has been pulled in, and onward to success.
"I am sure the party will see not just a revival butmassive growth under your able and dynamic leadership," Punjabchief minister Amarinder Singh said to him today.
Top Congress leaders say his leadership will beestablished if he delivers a victory in Gujarat or atleast substantially improves the Congress tally there.
In the last few months, Gandhi has been lookingconfident, having worked on his image and outreach.
Now no longer as reluctant as he seemed in his earlyyears, he looks relaxed and confident, targets PM Modi withhis one-liners, uses popular cultural idioms effectively andhas significantly improved his social media following.
Besides, Gandhi is now talking about his Hinducredentials and without being defensive about his faith.
"I am a Lord Shiva worshipper," he said a while ago tocounter the BJP's attempts to appropriate the Hindu religion.
He is also getting vocal about his private life.
"I believe in destiny," he said when asked at a gatheringwhy he was not married.
Recently, he said he was a black belt in Japanese martialart form Aikido, and talked fondly about his pet dog, Piddi.
Armed with a refurbished social media team, Gandhi isalso trying to appear more accessible to the public.
Congressmen refer to his address to students in Berkley,US, when he boldly took questions, even on dynastic politics,to underline his new-found confidence.
Gandhi's US trip, crafted by his father's friend SamPitroda, was seen as hugely successful and one that cast theGandhi scion in a fresh and new political mould.
The BJP has started taking Gandhi seriously of late,often fielding a host of ministers to counter the Congresscharge against demonetisation and GST.
Earlier, too, Gandhi's jibes against the government suchas "Suit boot ki Sarkar" and "Gabbar Singh Tax" had put thesaffron party on the defensive.
Gandhi has now started posing a question every day toModi, quizzing him on a wide range of subjects.
But can Gandhi handle the rough and tumble of 24X7 Indianpolitics with aggressive rivals such as Modi and BJP PresidentAmit Shah to counter?Senior Congress leader and former minister KishoreChandra Deo was confident he would galvanise the party.
"The Congress has a presence and outreach all across thecountry. Rahul will have to revive the party and shake it up.
He needs to pick up the correct people for the correct placesand regions," he said.
If he can do well in Gujarat, Deo said, he can do so inany other state.
All eyes are on Gandhi -- and December 18, when theresults of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly electionswould be announced. PTI SKCBDS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.