There is every reason for Congress party to smile over the choice of Rahul Gandhi to take over his mother’s constituency, Rae Bereli and it can be dubbed as second logical and politically correct decision after undertaking ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Srinagar thereby covering 4080 Kms.(2540 Miles) in 15 states.
Riding on the success of ‘Yatra’, Rahul Gandhi’s preference for Rae Bareli may serve a twin purpose. First, it will keep the family's connection with the people of this constituency as Sonia Gandhi has entered Rajya Sabha which practically keeps her away from active politics. Second, it may help him to work on a long term plan to rejuvenate the party in Uttar Pradesh which is so crucial to aim for a bigger share in national politics.
Senior congress leaders have given a third angle to the choice of Rae Bareli by Rahul Gandhi. They say it has snatched Smiriti Irani’s privilege of contesting against a member of Gandhi family which gave a big leverage to her in BJP. Now her victory will not hog limelight in friendly TV channels or print media as it will be a normal event like others in the rest of the Lok Sabha seats in the country.
Political observers believe that Congress party’s think tank took a lot of time in zeroing in a suitable constituency especially when selection was confined to either Amethi or Rae Bareli after he decided to continue his association with the people of Wayanad in Kerala. The experts say that Rahul has robbed Smriti Irani of potential onslaught of dynastic politics which always helped her to hog the limelight in national print media and Pro- BJP TV channels. Now a common party worker having a long experience, Kishori Lal Sharma has been pitted against high profile Irani who may not face problem in retaining the seat .But politics is the game of big upheavals and if Sharma upsets the apple cart of Irani then he will become a national hero.2ndly,Rahul will carry forward the legacy of his mother and continue to serve the people of Rae Bareli which may act as a morale booster to the party leaders and cadres. 3rd, Rahul has age on his side as he is 53 whereas Modi is 73 which gives former a chance as latter will retire someday ,maybe after 10 years when he turns 83 or prior to it which cannot be predicted as he is physically fully fit and highly popular and BJP rides on his shoulders? 4th,it could be a part of long term plan to work for keeping intact an optimism of focusing on a state having 80 parliamentary seats which matters a lot from national perspective.4th,there is an apprehension that if Rahul wins from both constituencies then he may retain Wayanard and his sister Priyanka can be fielded from Amethi though it may give handle to BJP to attack duo on the pretext of preservation of dynasty in the parliament. Rahul had won from Amethi in 2004 and 2009 hence he may not face any hurdle in establishing connection with his mother’s constituency besides ensuring the continuity of family’s liason.
In this backdrop, experts say that it will be relevant to deal with the foundation of future strategy of Rahul Gandhi which was practically laid after the success of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra. It did help him in warding off the image of “Pappu” which he alleged was handiwork of BJP. Some senior congress leaders in Delhi say that it was the late Arun Jaitely who was the brain behind the coming of “Pappu” which did push Rahul Gandhi back for at least 20 years. They believe that Yatra gave a golden opportunity to Rahul to get rid of this tag which can be attributed to his relentless campaign to highlight the woes and grievances of common people. Rahul interacted with men, women, youths etc. who could have a feel of his personality and endurance to fight against odds which was shown by him and it is an essential element to be a successful leader. Rahul got a chance to explain to the public that he was a victim of conspiracy hatched by BJP to defame and denigrate in the eyes of people and hundreds of crores had been spent to publicize it in media and TV channels. He could establish an emotional chord with the poor people during his 145 days of ‘Yatra’ covering 4260 Kms on foot. But he wrapped up ‘Yatra’ when polls were announced and became the part of a team of Congress party which took the decision about the sharing of seats with INDI alliance partners besides the ticklish issue of allotment of the tickets to party candidates.
One of the biggest takeaways from Rahul’s journey pertains to a bitter reality of the continued slide of his party especially when potential and young leaders are deserting the Grand Old Party which poses a biggest challenge to his leadership in future. A better showing in parliamentary polls may strengthen his resolve to take the party on a recovery path but dismal performance may prove to be a bad omen for future plans as it will make the wait longer.
(Writer is political analyst and senior journalist based on Shimla)
