Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has returned from his 56-day "political" leave of absence. No one knows for sure where he went. Or why he went. Or, for that matter, why he's back. All we do know is that he disappeared with the kind of impeccable timing that only a Congressman can have: on the first day of the Budget Session of Parliament, when his party was supposed to take charge of growing discontent with the government.
His return has also been very classically Congress. All through the last 56 days, there was a constant drumbeat of rumours about when the scion of India's first family would be back. From India's Daughter to Priya Pillai, the land acquisition amendment ordinance to net neutrality, there were many occasions where the Congress VP could have come straight back and made an intervention that would have earned him positive headlines and goodwill.
Instead he returns just as the tide is turning in a debate where Rahul can't just plug in and look good: the question of whether it is time for Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take a step back from the party and let her son take charge. The last few weeks, in fact, have seen more and more Congress leaders come out against Rahul's impending coronation, leaving the party in an uncomfortable place.
Still maybe his time in Greece (or Cambodia or South America or a Burmese meditation centre), meant that Rahul Gandhi hasn't had a chance to catch up on what's been happening here in India. So we've got a quick cheat sheet.
Rahul's missed opportunities
*Priya Pillai & India's Daughter: the government decided it would use draconian tools, like offloading activists and banning documentaries, to prevent India's "image" from being sullied abroad.
*Land Acquisition Amendment Ordinance: Rahul's party, the Congress, has attempted to become the focal point of opposition to the government's changed land law, which attempts to make things easier for industry. But instead of Rahul leading this, the push has given fresh momentum to the keep-Sonia-in-charge faction of the COngress.
*Net Neutrality: Rahul pitches himself as the old-but-still-youthful, insider-outsider who will fight for both farmers and the post-agriculture generation. Net Neutrality could have been his issue, since it promotes both welfare and equality, while also focusing on the future.
*Rahul vs Sonia: the biggest debate where Rahul should have intervened earlier is, of course, the question of whether he should take charge. Although many believe his departure was a tantrum or an ultimatum to the party that it should be accepting his demands, his absence gave fodder to those who insist that it is not time for the scion to be leading the party yet.
What others have done in the meantime
Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party: worked to bring non-allied parties like the Biju Janata Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on its side on a number of laws. Took the party to 10 crore members. Began campaign for elections later in the year in the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has made a number of small and large decisions to improve the economy, now projected to grow faster than China's, and has also signed deals with France and Germany, aside from continuing to work on India's image abroad.
Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party: it may not have looked good, but Kejriwal managed to do in the last month exactly what many suggest Rahul wants to do: get rid of those within AAP who are standing in his way, working "against the party" in his estimation, or are out to achieve other things. Meanwhile, the party has also continued governing the capital, and has worked on delivering its promises.
Janata Parivar: once unthinkable, the various offshoots of the Janata Parivar, including some former arch-rivals, have used the last couple of months to iron out their remaining differences and create a merged party that will take on the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and, eventually, at the national stage.
The Left: even India's communists have manage to make some progress over the last few weeks, even if that progress involves simply acknowledging that they haven't been doing enough.
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His return has also been very classically Congress. All through the last 56 days, there was a constant drumbeat of rumours about when the scion of India's first family would be back. From India's Daughter to Priya Pillai, the land acquisition amendment ordinance to net neutrality, there were many occasions where the Congress VP could have come straight back and made an intervention that would have earned him positive headlines and goodwill.
Instead he returns just as the tide is turning in a debate where Rahul can't just plug in and look good: the question of whether it is time for Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take a step back from the party and let her son take charge. The last few weeks, in fact, have seen more and more Congress leaders come out against Rahul's impending coronation, leaving the party in an uncomfortable place.
Still maybe his time in Greece (or Cambodia or South America or a Burmese meditation centre), meant that Rahul Gandhi hasn't had a chance to catch up on what's been happening here in India. So we've got a quick cheat sheet.
Rahul's missed opportunities
*Priya Pillai & India's Daughter: the government decided it would use draconian tools, like offloading activists and banning documentaries, to prevent India's "image" from being sullied abroad.
*Land Acquisition Amendment Ordinance: Rahul's party, the Congress, has attempted to become the focal point of opposition to the government's changed land law, which attempts to make things easier for industry. But instead of Rahul leading this, the push has given fresh momentum to the keep-Sonia-in-charge faction of the COngress.
*Net Neutrality: Rahul pitches himself as the old-but-still-youthful, insider-outsider who will fight for both farmers and the post-agriculture generation. Net Neutrality could have been his issue, since it promotes both welfare and equality, while also focusing on the future.
*Rahul vs Sonia: the biggest debate where Rahul should have intervened earlier is, of course, the question of whether he should take charge. Although many believe his departure was a tantrum or an ultimatum to the party that it should be accepting his demands, his absence gave fodder to those who insist that it is not time for the scion to be leading the party yet.
What others have done in the meantime
Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party: worked to bring non-allied parties like the Biju Janata Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on its side on a number of laws. Took the party to 10 crore members. Began campaign for elections later in the year in the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has made a number of small and large decisions to improve the economy, now projected to grow faster than China's, and has also signed deals with France and Germany, aside from continuing to work on India's image abroad.
Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party: it may not have looked good, but Kejriwal managed to do in the last month exactly what many suggest Rahul wants to do: get rid of those within AAP who are standing in his way, working "against the party" in his estimation, or are out to achieve other things. Meanwhile, the party has also continued governing the capital, and has worked on delivering its promises.
Janata Parivar: once unthinkable, the various offshoots of the Janata Parivar, including some former arch-rivals, have used the last couple of months to iron out their remaining differences and create a merged party that will take on the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and, eventually, at the national stage.
The Left: even India's communists have manage to make some progress over the last few weeks, even if that progress involves simply acknowledging that they haven't been doing enough.
