Rahul Gandhi's speech at the AICC session on Friday has been hailed by many as his coming-of-age-address. He finally managed to talk on issues other than the Gandhi family's personal tragedies and even took digs at Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, without naming them.
It was evident the AICC session was convened with the primary objective of portraying Rahul Gandhi as the future beacon of the Congress party and hint that Sonia has handed the baton over to him. The meet also meant to send out a message that the grand olf party has not vanquished yet and the Congress is ready for the battle ahead.
With yesterday's address, Rahul has possibly managed to buoy the party cadres' spirit and proved that even he can compete with Modi in the lung power department.
Rahul Gandhi at the AICC meet. AFP.
He was also not off mark when he said, "This is not just another turn in the history of India, another election to be fought, won or lost. This is a turning point in our nation's journey. Nobody is in the mood to accept less than their full and complete right. No-one is willing to compromise anymore. They want individual choice. They want participation. They want a fair deal and they deserve it."
However, his problems stem from exactly those assertions. Given the fact that he cannot completely distance himself from the now 10-year-old incumbent government, it will be very hard for him to make people take him at face value. There have many several allegations of corruption, price rise consequent depletion of popular support that the Congress has faced.
He was also being almost prophetic when he said, "Either we wake up to their aspirations, or we have no business to claim that we represent them. The change that is taking place around us is unstoppable." His adversaries, Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, too have made similar pitches and AAP's win in Delhi, BJP's win the state polls show that the winds of change are indeed blowing over the country.
However, like the political rhetoric of most other parties, Rahul's claims of revolutionary changes in India rung partially hollow for several reasons. The meet attended by 3,000 Congress workers hardly threw up too many new ideas of governance and policy making. The ones that Gandhi came up with were demanding the cap on subsidized LPG gas cylinders be raised, women chief ministers in half the Congress-ruled states, 50 percent women delegates in AICC conventions. Finance Minister P Cidambaram wanted nominations for young leaders (below 35 years of age) for 50 percent of the 272 seats the party plans to contest from. Now if the other Congress quota demands are taken into consideration - like 30 percent reservation for women, reservations for SC/STs - it's not too hyperbolic to say that Chidambaram should feel very luck if he manages to land a ticket.
However, there was one interesting idea that Rahul mooted. He hinted at something modelled on the American primary in 15 parliamentary seats. This would be a pilot project to select the most popular candidate in the constituency. It is indeed an interesting idea and if implemented it could also become successful. However, by floating such an idea, did Rahul indicate that he doesn't agree with the way candidates had been chosen by the party for the past so many years? The party, after all, was being led by his mother!
However, what is more important is finding out which constituencies Rahul chooses to test waters. Will it be an A grade seat or some seat that can be easily won by the Congress? In that situation, what will happen to the likes of Vijay Bahuguna who was made the Uttarakhand Congress CM despite objections from several ranks of the party.
In fact, in the AICC meet in Jaipur, Gandhi had promised set of rules and regulations that have to be followed by the Congress. The status of that initiative is not known still. Obviously, there's a definite breach between what is preached and what is practiced.
And above all, Rahul Gandhi has to tell the world who he really is? He is so many persons at the same time - from the reluctant prince to the rebel leader, from a party leader criticising the government formed by his own party to an anti corruption messiah, Rahul has donned several avatars. He has to come across as consistent and a person with a single set of plans.
Despite his pitches, it is difficult for Rahul to strike a chord with the youth like Modi and Kejriwal. His development pitch doesn't have Modi's strength and his anti-corruption stance doesn't ring as true as Kejriwal's.
Now we need to wait for what Modi has to say in response to Rahul in is Sunday address.
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