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New Delhi, June 19: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, the young face of the Gandhi family, entered politics in 2004 and won the Amethi constituency with hopes of crores resting on his shoulders. But even after 13 years in the political battlefield, he has hardly done anything worthwhile even though the party does not fail to give credit to him for every success. The heir apparent, a ‘reluctant’ politician was projected as a messiah of the people but he goes missing when there is an urgent need and he himself scores a self goal.
The 130-year-old Congress party has hit a bottom both in Lok Sabha and in state Assemblies across the country. Once in a blue moon, the Gandhi scion raises an issue, hogs to limelight and then vanishes. This is what happened recently in Mandsaur farmers’ protest when he visited Madhya Pradesh. Just a few days after Rahul, with a brigade of Congress leaders visited the state, he left abroad to meet his maternal grandmother. It was one of the best times for the Congress to turn the tide in its favour when the fortune was not favouring Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Great grandson of late prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, grandson of late prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, a lot was expected from Rahul but he failed in every aspect. The Bharatiya Janata Party took advantage of it and changed the narrative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi versus Rahul Gandhi which the former won hands down. The three-time Amethi MP led the party from the front in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the result is for everyone to see. The party barely managed to win 44 seats in the 543-member House. He was the Congress’s prime ministerial candidate, an active politician, but he could not connect with the masses and his victory margin in Amethi has also shrunk.
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The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power from 2004 to 2014 but he did not take any ministerial berth and devoid himself of any experience as a minister. At times, he was not even actively involved in the party affairs and in 2015 he went on a mysterious leave for nearly two months during a crucial time. He returned with a bang but the balloon burst two soon. The party even failed to corner the government on Vyapam scam, Lalit Modi controversy even though Rahul targeted the Modi government of being a ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’.
Time and again, demands are being raised by Congress leaders to make Rahul the Congress president. In January 2013, Rahul was elected as party vice-president and owing to Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s ill-health the demand is being made every now and then for his elevation. But as a reluctant politician, Rahul has refused to lead the party from the front.
In his tenure as an MP, Rahul did not visit his constituency much and didn’t do any noteworthy work. The projects which were scheduled did not see the light of the day. Time is running for the Gandhi scion and he must pick up pieces and make them fall into place. There are many young leaders to give him a tough fight and it might be too late for him.
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