Anil Anand
There was never ever any doubt about Rahul Gandhi not becoming president of the Indian National Congress. The acceptance of offer, ascension and timing was only a matter of time may be of his and family’s choosing. Justifiably, the political rivals and intriguingly section of the insiders (read Congress) were predicting the Gandhi family scion either refusing the offer altogether or in case of acceptance guide the over century old party towards doom.
By all indicators Rahul is all set to technically lead the party even before the all important and make or break Assembly elections to Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are announced anytime soon, among other states. Notwithstanding the occasional faux pas, mostly the making of people around him, he had already arrived on the Congress from the day one. Yes he was reluctant and yes his period of internship last bit too long but probably he was choosing time and place of his choice to don the mantle of Congress president.
More importantly, it was never an easy task to understand the contours of Congress’s internal dimensions where every top leader ever willing to reserve his/her share of the pie without offering anything in return to the organisation that built them what they are . Given the fact that his mother and the party chief Sonia Gandhi had agreed to lead a crisis ridden party in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, with success, in the face of serious challenges from within, it could be cause enough for Rahul to tread cautiously and be his own person rather than be catapulted to the top under any duress.
The November 7, 2016 Congress Working Committee had no particularly agenda with extension of Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as president by another one year being the one exigency as required by Election Commission guidelines in the absence of a delayed organisational election. It proved to be more than that and in real terms paved the way for Rahul to ultimately become Congress president on a day of his choice.
There are two significant contexts of this CWC. The unanimous resolution passed by the high powered body, packed with more veterans than few young faces, conveys the entire story. Majority of those resisting transition or trying to oppose Rahul’s elevation on one pretext or the other and at times tossing his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s name as a more competent heir apparent than him, have fallen in line and understood the writing on the wall.
The biggest take-away of this meeting was that there is no other way for the veterans than accepting Rahul’s leadership. The only other option would be get confined to a ‘Marg Darshak’ mandal or call it quits from politics. Through unanimity of the resolution they have clearly ruled out the last option.
The other significant outcome of the CWC deliberations was the small footnote of acceptance by Rahul. His expression of readiness to accept “whatever responsibility is bestowed upon him by the Congress president and the CWC in fighting for the idea of India” is a clincher. Those, even within the CWC, who had described him as a reluctant player and thought that he would pack his bags and go off shore, had a reason to feel surprised.
Rahul’s declaration of intent to accept the responsibility has cleared the air but alongside it brings in a load of challenges. The first and foremost would be to affix his stamp of authority and the one sure way to achieve this is through exhibition of strong and meaningful decisiveness.
Balancing if not breaking the AICC’s existing power structure is the one area where decisiveness would count a lot. In fact intrigues were bred in the Congress’s top structure as all those who mattered always found themselves cluttered in the comfort zone with no mechanism of accountability. A convenient ploy for most of them to hide their own failures was to shift blame on Rahul and prove him unworthy. Resultantly, prolong their stay in the AICC or whatever top positions they were holding.
Rahul would have an onerous task at hand of not only galvanising an organisation which is moth eaten but also authoritatively break open the doors blocked by certain vested interest, for the new talent. He would have to try hard and convince the old-guard to act as guides and mentors for him as well the new talent to ensure smooth generational transition at all levels in the party. It should certainly not imply the end of the road for an entire generation of “tried and trusted” leaders.
He has already broken certain barriers, visible in his political behaviour and attitude at least in the public. But at the core he should strongly pursue his own beliefs and ideas not necessarily conforming to many traits of the old school of politics. Certain image of him deliberately strengthened by vested interests would have to be demolished. And the best way for him to do this is through his actions.
A whiff of fresh air is what Congress, on route to rejuvenation, desperately requires. Rahul has the capability but his potential would be under public scrutiny on every step. The long period of internship in his case has become a baggage. He would have to act strongly and move fast to offload this baggage. Barometer still would be his ideas and implementation.
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Follow our WhatsApp channel