When leaders of all opposition parties lined up at the Gandhi statue in Parliament House on Thursday to observe a “black day” to mark the completion of a month since the government banned high-denomination notes on November 8, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was leading the charge.
Rahul Gandhi took centre stage during the protests and also spoke at length to media persons, during which he described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move as a “foolish decision” which has wreaked havoc in the country.
“The Prime Minister took this so-called bold decision,” he said. “But a bold decision can also be a foolish decision. And this was a foolish decision as it has devastated the country. More than 100 people have died. Farmers, fishermen, daily wage earners have been hit hard.”
The ongoing winter session has been marked by disruptions and adjournments inside the House and protests outside over the economic disruption and cash crunch caused by the sudden invalidation of high-currency notes. The Congress vice-president led a similar rally against demonetisation at the Gandhi statue on November 23 too, in which leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam also participated.
On both occasions, Congress president Sonia Gandhi was conspicuous by her absence. So does this mean that other opposition parties are growing to accept Rahul Gandhi’s leadership? Yes and no.
Uneasy ties
In March last year, when more than 100 Opposition leaders marched from the Parliament House to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to register their protest against the Modi government’s decision to amend the Land Acquisition Act, including diluting the consent clause, Sonia Gandhi had taken the lead. A senior Congress leader had then remarked: “Do you think opposition leaders would have come together like this if Rahul Gandhi was leading the protest?”
Undoubtedly, there has been a shift in the dynamics since then. Opposition members, who were earlier wary of being seen in Rahul Gandhi’s company, appear to have accepted that he is now calling the shots in the Congress and that they will have to deal with him. However, the Gandhi scion has a long way to go before he is accepted as the leader of an alternative anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front.
For instance, both Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayum Singh Yadav did not join the protests at the Gandhi statue on Thursday as well as last month, though their party MPs were present. This could possibly be because the two leaders did not want to share a platform with Rahul Gandhi so close to next year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh, a stronghold of both their parties.
The Opposition had earlier reportedly said their leaders would address a joint press conference on Thursday after the protest. However, on the day of the protest, each party leader spoke separately to the media. Although Opposition leaders denied that there were plans for a joint briefing, it can be safely said they had second thoughts because it would have meant conceding the floor to Rahul Gandhi as the lead speaker.
Task cut out
Though Rahul Gandhi practically handles all the affairs of the party now, it is widely known that prominent Opposition leaders like Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dal head Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati prefer to deal with Sonia Gandhi directly.
Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar was among the few leaders who held seat-sharing talks with Rahul Gandhi in the run-up to last year’s Bihar assembly polls, during which they stitched up the winning Mahagathbandan or Grand Alliance. However, this was a strategic move by Kumar as Lalu Yadav, whose RJD was the third member of the alliance, was in direct contact with Sonia Gandhi, while the Congress vice-preisdent was known to be favourably inclined towards the JD(U) leader.
Despite their grudging acceptance that Rahul Gandhi will be the future head of the Congress, many Opposition leaders are doubtful of his ability to lead a coalition of disparate parties. Moreover, before he can be considered a serious contender for this tough job, the Congress vice-president will have to revive his own party, re-establishing its credibility and leading it to an electoral victory.
But on this count, the Congress vice-president has a dismal record. Rahul Gandhi was the face of the Congress campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, in which they suffered a crushing defeat and led the party in subsequent assembly polls as well, where too the Congress was decimated. It is now in power in just a handful of states and worse still, is showing no signs of revival.
As the Modi government is more than half-way through its term, there is little indication that Rahul Gandhi is gaining acceptability among the people as a prospective prime ministerial candidate. The Congress vice-president now has an opportunity to redeem himself in the next year’s assembly polls in Punjab and Uttarakhand. While the Congress hopes to retain its control over Uttarakhand, it believes it has a shot at victory in Punjab too, where there is strong anti-incumbency against the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal - BJP alliance.
