Humble and gracious in victory, Rahul Gandhi is good news for liberal India

Critics had written him off. Even supporters were doubtful about him at times. But the three state assembly election results from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have established him as a credible and worthy Indian leader to take on Narendra Modi in the 2019 general election. It has been, indeed, a long journey for Congress President Rahul Gandhi. It has surely come the hard way too. But it is no mean achievement for Rahul Gandhi to deliver three important and BJP-ruled states to his party exactly a year after taking charge of Congress on December 11, 2017.

You have a young, confident and seasoned Rahul Gandhi who is ready to take on opposition leadership to fight the BJP both inside and outside the Parliament. Rahul Gandhi is focussed, knows his rivals’ strength and weaknesses and is clearly committed to fight the saffron politics of hate that is becoming a serious threat to Indian constitutional and civilisational values.

Rahul Gandhi is focused on three issues that are generating wide spread discontent against the Modi government within the country. The issues are unemployment, farmers’ distress and corruption. These were the three issues he campaigned on during the recently held five assembly elections. People responded to his campaign at least in three states where BJP governments’ mismanagement hurt them badly. He plunged himself into the campaign with an energy and dedication that have been hallmarks of the Gandhis since long. His hard work paid off and the Congress’ victory in three states is largely due to his effort. But the most striking feature of Rahul Gandhi’s personality has been his humility and his desire to take everyone along in his political battle against the BJP.

He dedicated the victory in the three states to party workers. He was humble and gracious in victory and unusually for Indian politicians, thanked the BJP chief ministers in the three states for their work. He was also quick to promise that their good work would be carried forward. He is extremely conscious of Indian common man’s political instinct and repeatedly admits that he learns from them. Rahul is aware that pooling non-Congress votes is key to defeat the BJP. He is, therefore, willing to walk the extra mile for bringing about the opposition unity which is the need of the hour for a liberal and secular India.

Rahul Gandhi, as he pointed out, is conscious that a good leader does not only need to criticise his rivals but he also needs to have an alternative vision and solutions for problems troubling the country. He declared the other day that he is working out a vision to resolve serious problems of unemployment and farm distress in both short and long terms. Well, Rahul Gandhi has surely arrived. It’s good news both for the Congress Party and Indian liberals who have been groping for a leader to fight the saffron brand of politics.