Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s return to Delhi from his mysterious 56-day sabbatical on Thursday was greeted with the mandatory display of sycophancy by party workers, who celebrated his homecoming by bursting firecrackers outside his Tughlak Lane residence.
But away from glare of television cameras, the Nehru-Gandhi scion’s homecoming generated a subdued show of enthusiasm. Instead, it sparked off was a series of worrying questions: about Rahul Gandhi’s future role in the party, whether he is ready to take on full-time responsibility, if is he up to the challenge and , more importantly, whether he has a viable road map for the party’s revival.
In an attempt to provide some answers, party spokespersons declared that the Nehru-Gandhi scion will be unveiling his plans for the rejuvenation of the party in the coming days.
Maintaining that Rahul Gandhi’s return had electrified party workers, they said, he will lead the party with greater vigour and enthusiasm.
Period of introspection
“Rahul Gandhi was not on vacation…he was on leave of absence to introspect on reinvigorating the party,” explained Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. “He will be interacting with his party colleagues and workers in the coming days to explain how he wants to strengthen and reinvent the Congress,” he added.
There is, however, no official word on Gandhi’s elevation as party president. The question is invariably fobbed off with a standard reply that the Congress will work under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. “Can anybody say that Sonia Gandhi is not our leader…the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi is the need of the hour,” Surjewala responded.
To begin with, the two leaders will be addressing a Vishal Kisan rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds to protest against the National Democratic Alliance government’s land acquisition ordinance which is to come up for ratification in the second half of the budget session commencing on April 20.
The objective of the rally is two-fold: to declare war against the policies of Modi government’s that it sees as anti-farmer and to provide a fitting platform to relaunch Rahul Gandhi as a crusader for the poor farmer and other marginalised sections. Having led the protests against the acquisition of farmers’ land in the neighbouring villages of Bhatta-Parsaul in 2011, the party felt it was only appropriate that Rahul Gandhi should mark his return from his sabbatical with the launch of a renewed battle against the Modi government on the same issue.
While Congress members await word from Rahul Gandhi about his future plans, doubts continue to persist about his ability to repair the damaged party. “We have high expectations from Rahul…we do hope he will be a full-time leader now,” remarked a former Congress MP, known to be close to Rahul Gandhi. Besides his apparent lack of connection with party workers and the voter and his poor oratory, the Nehru-Gandhi is not known for his consistency and he has a tendency to disappear after brief shows of enthusiasm.
It is normally said that distance makes the heart grow fonder. But in Rahul Gandhi’s case, Congress members were actually quite relieved that he had gone on a prolonged sabbatical even though it meant answering embarrassing questions about his absence during a crucial parliament session.
The party was particularly enthused and excited when Congress president Sonia Gandhi came out of her shell and decided to play a more active role in party affairs. In March, she galvanised demotivated party workers when she led a march of opposition parties to Rashtrapati Bhavan against the land acquisition Bill and followed it up with a series of trips to meet with farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana whose crops had been destroyed by the unseasonal rains.
Credible face
“Sonia Gandhi is our party’s most credible face….will opposition parties every come together under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership,” remarked a senior Congress leader. “Once Rahul Gandhi returns … it will be back to square one,” he added despondently.
In fact, it is this prevailing sentiment which is reflected in the recent statements made by former chief ministers Amarinder Singh and Sheila Dikshit and her son Sandeep Dikshit as the leadership issue will be centrestage once again. They all expressed doubts about Rahul Gandhi’s ability to revive the party and insisted that Sonia Gandhi was needed at the helm now more than ever. While Amarinder Singh had had said Sonia should retain the role of Congress president and a generational change cannot be done "with a knife", Sheila Dikshit also made a case for Sonia Gandhi to continue.
These comments have only served to show up the sharp divide in the Congress on whether Rahul Gandhi should replace Sonia Gandhi as Congress president. Now that Rahul Gandhi has returned and his elevation as party chief by this year-end appears imminent, these voices of dissension could become louder in the coming days. However, it is equally true that everybody will fall in line once Sonia Gandhi declares that Rahul is to take over as Congress president.
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But away from glare of television cameras, the Nehru-Gandhi scion’s homecoming generated a subdued show of enthusiasm. Instead, it sparked off was a series of worrying questions: about Rahul Gandhi’s future role in the party, whether he is ready to take on full-time responsibility, if is he up to the challenge and , more importantly, whether he has a viable road map for the party’s revival.
In an attempt to provide some answers, party spokespersons declared that the Nehru-Gandhi scion will be unveiling his plans for the rejuvenation of the party in the coming days.
Maintaining that Rahul Gandhi’s return had electrified party workers, they said, he will lead the party with greater vigour and enthusiasm.
Period of introspection
“Rahul Gandhi was not on vacation…he was on leave of absence to introspect on reinvigorating the party,” explained Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. “He will be interacting with his party colleagues and workers in the coming days to explain how he wants to strengthen and reinvent the Congress,” he added.
There is, however, no official word on Gandhi’s elevation as party president. The question is invariably fobbed off with a standard reply that the Congress will work under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. “Can anybody say that Sonia Gandhi is not our leader…the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi is the need of the hour,” Surjewala responded.
To begin with, the two leaders will be addressing a Vishal Kisan rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Grounds to protest against the National Democratic Alliance government’s land acquisition ordinance which is to come up for ratification in the second half of the budget session commencing on April 20.
The objective of the rally is two-fold: to declare war against the policies of Modi government’s that it sees as anti-farmer and to provide a fitting platform to relaunch Rahul Gandhi as a crusader for the poor farmer and other marginalised sections. Having led the protests against the acquisition of farmers’ land in the neighbouring villages of Bhatta-Parsaul in 2011, the party felt it was only appropriate that Rahul Gandhi should mark his return from his sabbatical with the launch of a renewed battle against the Modi government on the same issue.
While Congress members await word from Rahul Gandhi about his future plans, doubts continue to persist about his ability to repair the damaged party. “We have high expectations from Rahul…we do hope he will be a full-time leader now,” remarked a former Congress MP, known to be close to Rahul Gandhi. Besides his apparent lack of connection with party workers and the voter and his poor oratory, the Nehru-Gandhi is not known for his consistency and he has a tendency to disappear after brief shows of enthusiasm.
It is normally said that distance makes the heart grow fonder. But in Rahul Gandhi’s case, Congress members were actually quite relieved that he had gone on a prolonged sabbatical even though it meant answering embarrassing questions about his absence during a crucial parliament session.
The party was particularly enthused and excited when Congress president Sonia Gandhi came out of her shell and decided to play a more active role in party affairs. In March, she galvanised demotivated party workers when she led a march of opposition parties to Rashtrapati Bhavan against the land acquisition Bill and followed it up with a series of trips to meet with farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana whose crops had been destroyed by the unseasonal rains.
Credible face
“Sonia Gandhi is our party’s most credible face….will opposition parties every come together under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership,” remarked a senior Congress leader. “Once Rahul Gandhi returns … it will be back to square one,” he added despondently.
In fact, it is this prevailing sentiment which is reflected in the recent statements made by former chief ministers Amarinder Singh and Sheila Dikshit and her son Sandeep Dikshit as the leadership issue will be centrestage once again. They all expressed doubts about Rahul Gandhi’s ability to revive the party and insisted that Sonia Gandhi was needed at the helm now more than ever. While Amarinder Singh had had said Sonia should retain the role of Congress president and a generational change cannot be done "with a knife", Sheila Dikshit also made a case for Sonia Gandhi to continue.
These comments have only served to show up the sharp divide in the Congress on whether Rahul Gandhi should replace Sonia Gandhi as Congress president. Now that Rahul Gandhi has returned and his elevation as party chief by this year-end appears imminent, these voices of dissension could become louder in the coming days. However, it is equally true that everybody will fall in line once Sonia Gandhi declares that Rahul is to take over as Congress president.