Rahul Gandhi has no option but to succeed

Rahul Gandhi’s election as president of the Indian National Congress marks a turning point in the history of the grand old party. The congratulatory message he received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a measure of the recognition he earned as the pre-eminent Congress leader. It also marks the end of the BJP’s tactics of making fun of him and thus driving him into a corner.

It is worth recalling that when the election process was set in motion in the Congress, Modi tried to ridicule it, recalling the days of Aurangzeb. Far from denting the image of the Congress leader, it showed the Prime Minister in a poor light as someone who could not rise above pettiness.

Modi knew that he had little chance if the youth of Gandhi and his age were juxtaposed against each other. So it was in the BJP’s interest that he should be portrayed as a non-serious, fun-loving leader whom the nation could not trust. That has been the party’s effort all through.

The BJP had deployed a large army of trolls in the social media to project Gandhi as immature and in this task it also received support from sections of the mainstream media, both electronic and print. However, the elections in Gujarat saw Gandhi attracting larger crowds than Modi in the latter’s own stronghold. If the support he gained is converted into votes, the BJP would find itself sitting in the Opposition.

No one knew this better than Narendra Modi who, for the first time, got the Winter Session of Parliament that usually begins in November and concludes in December, cancelled to enable him and all his ministerial colleagues to campaign in the state. No state has witnessed such saturation campaign as Gujarat has. Even if the

Congress is unable to shake off the BJP from Gujarat, it has succeeded in creating a wedge between Modi and the people.

In politics, the chief determinant of a person is his ability to win elections. Gandhi first contested elections in 2004 winning by a margin of over 1 lakh votes. In the 2009 elections, he increased the margin to over 4 lakh votes. In 2014 when Modi swept the polls, especially in Uttar Pradesh, he was able to win by a margin of 1 lakh votes.

It was the most crucial poll for Gandhi as his rival was Modi’s confidante Smriti Irani. How important she was for the Prime Minister was obvious when she was chosen for the crucial Human Resource Development portfolio despite her defeat at the hands of Gandhi.

In between, he was able to revive the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, though not to such an extent as to return to power. He had to pay a heavy price for the policy that PV Narasimha Rao followed which allowed the demolition of the Babri Masjid driving Muslims away from the Congress. Gandhi has proved that he has the wherewithal to revive the Congress in UP in better political conditions.

Gandhi could have joined the UPA government and occupied any ministerial position. In fact, Dr Manmohan Singh wanted him as his Cabinet colleague. But he had other ambitions like strengthening the youth base of the party. As Youth Congress and National Students Union of India (NSUI) chief, he was able to instil confidence among the youth. There was a phenomenal increase in the membership of these two organisations.

The NSUI was able to do extremely well in the recent university-level elections all over the country. Crisis brings out the best in a person. Though he was the butt of ridicule, he never retaliated in kind. In fact, he had the humility to admit in public that he made mistakes for which he sought pardon from the public.

And when a senior party leader like Mani Shankar Aiyar made a caustic remark that could be interpreted as a caste-based attack on Modi, he had the guts to take summary disciplinary action against him.

It allowed the Congress to turn the tables against the BJP whose star campaigner Modi even alleged that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conspired with Pakistan to ensure Modi’s defeat in Gujarat.

Nonetheless, when Modi wore an expensive suit that had his name written all over it with golden threads, he dubbed the NDA government a suit-boot government. Again, when he dubbed GST as Gabbar Singh Tax, it found an immediate traction in Gujarat and elsewhere. Throughout the 15 years or so that he has been in politics, he has been travelling through the length and breadth of the country.

When Nirbhaya was gang-raped and killed in a moving bus in Delhi, few people knew what he did to the family. He got her brother admitted to an aviation institute and helped him pursue his aeronautical ambition. Nobody would have come to know about this but for the beneficiary disclosing it on his own.

Modi might call him names but Gandhi has been able to get recognition not only from the rank and file of the Congress but also from other political leaders leaders, including senior BJP leader LK Advani.

He played a significant role in Bihar in cobbling an alliance that roundly defeated Modi and Company. Victory in Punjab and Goa, though the BJP could form a government in Panaji through dishonest means, shows electoral politics is not alien to him. In short, Rahul Gandhi’s unanimous election as president is a recognition by the party that its future is safe in his hands.