NEW DELHI: It was an year of triumphs for the Congress, including its success in its agitation against the NDA Government on the Amendments in the Land Acquisition Act, the Electoral win in the Bihar assembly elections and the party managing to turn the legal setback in the National Herald case into a political victory.
The year 2015 also saw Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi emerge as one of the most potent forces with the huge victory of the Grand alliance in Bihar and the NDA backtracking on the amendments in the Land Bill being seen in political circles as a consequence of the strong leadership provided by the Congress youth icon.
However, amid the emergence of Rahul from the shadow of his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mrs Gandhi continued to provide a strong and inspiring leadership to the party as she led the combined Opposition onslaught against the government against the Land Bill and also led a party delegation to the President on the issue of intolerance last month.
A two month long sabbatical that he took during the Budget session, between February and April, saw Rahul undergo a makeover into a aggressive leader who was ready to take on the Modi Govenrmenbt inside as well as outside Parliament on several issues like the Land Bill, Net neutrality, the plight of farmers, the Real Estate Bill, the problem of street vendors, the FTII protests and the issue of non implementation of the One rank one pension.’
In fact, the post sabbatical makeover of the Congress vice president has set the stage firmly for his elevation as party president in the coming months, a demand vehemently raised by several senior leaders of the party of late.
The last several months have witnessed Rahul undertake padyatras across the country to meet farmers, labourers, the family of the victims of the Dadri lynching incident and also the FTII students to express his support for their cause.
Several rallies conducted by the Congress vice president also saw him launch a strong attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues like the Land Bill, his frequent foreign visits and his frequent jibes at home and abroad on the non achievement by the previous UPA Government at the Centre.
The huge victory of the Grand alliance of non BJP parties in the Bihar Assembly polls last month with the Congress showing a huge improvement over its position in the state compared to the last assembly elections, reinforced the confidence of the party and its workers on Rahul’s ability to take on the Modi magic that has led the BJP to a series of electoral successes since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
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