Struggles shape Rahul Gandhi

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Rahul Gandhi has signalled his arrival on the national political centre stage, ready to take head on the political challenges. A multi-million-dollar industry, set up to lampoon Rahul Gandhi has crashed. Whisper campaign on Rahul Gandhi as part-time politician, non-serious and not in a position to unite INDIA Bloc, all these and more failed to stick. 

Holding the Constitution, he has signalled a return to the Constitutional values and ideals of equality and equal opportunity to all; secular and socialistic vision; rights of Minorities, women and weaker sections; right to vote; and protecting federalism within the ambit of the national personality -- all of which are enshrined in the Constitution but are under challenge today. 

Turning 56-years-old on Friday, Rahul Gandhi has, at last, got INDIA Bloc acceptance as the undisputed leader, with Prime Ministerial ambitions of the likes of Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal taking a backseat. But, all the Allies failed to stand up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with no major campaign by Akhilesh Yadav of SP, Tejasvi Yadav of RJD. Worse, still, is Mayawati of BSP and M K Stalin of DMK, virtually giving in to Modi Establishment; with Rahul Gandhi singlehandedly leading the charge of the Opposition. 

Choosing to stay away from power during the Congress-led UPA Government years from 2004-2014 and being in the thick of Opposition politics during the past 12 years, Rahul Gandhi never shied away from leading from the front against an all-powerful opponent. All these years, Rahul Gandhi has been through struggles galore, including the 4,000-km-long Padayatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 2022-23. It has gone a long way in shaping up Rahul Gandhi, rendering him battle-fit for the next great electoral contest in 2029. 

Three of his most recent moves serve to prove his political acumen. One was his early decision to quickly seal the alliance deal with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in Tamil Nadu, soon after the Assembly elections results on May 4, before the Dravidian parties could strike back; V D Sateeshan as the right pick for Kerala Chief Minister; and change of guard in Karnataka, ahead of the crucial State Assembly elections in 2028. Seizing the moment, Rahul Gandhi acted decisively, which earned him all-round appreciation. 

Rahul Gandhi brought focus on to a new political approach of resistance. In the recent meeting of the INDIA Bloc in New Delhi on June 8, he called for a change of mindset of the Allies, inviting them to join the resistance movement. Drawing a parallel with the Congress, he said it was a political party prior till 1929. After the adoption of Purna Swaraj Resolution, moved by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the AICC Session in Lahore in 1929, the Congress transformed itself into Resistance Movement against the British.

As part of the line of resistance was his 4,000-km Bharat Jodo Yatra, his sustained campaigns across the nation on issues of national security highlighted by former Army Chief Gen N M Narwane, besides his latest students outreach, Chhatton ki Goonj, launched in Kota in Rajasthan on June 17, with decision to hold further such Student Conventions in Allahabad on July 10, in Patna on July 11 and in New Delhi on July 14. It aims to bring together students to highlight their hardships caused by paper leaks, rising examination costs and Government’s failure to ensure a fair and transparent education and recruitment system. 

RJD in Bihar, not Rahul Gandhi, is the bigger problem for Nitish Kumar. Besides, it was Nitish Kumar's electoral calculus that forced his hand, when he returned to the BJP-fold, ahead of the General Election in 2024 and Bihar Assembly elections in 2025. His political calculation is his Most Backward Classes (MBCs) base is supplemented by BJP's upper-caste base. His tie-up with the BJP is considered more as social coalition, than mere political alliance. 

Far from angrily reacting to the barrage of criticism from the Allies, Rahul Gandhi took the blame, saying like the blue-necked Shiva, he, too, would drink poison, to keep the INDIA Bloc together. "I promise you, I will bear every single humiliation that I have to bear, to knit this group together and make it succeed," he said at the INDIA Bloc meeting. 

Resistance to CBSE paper leak, NEET paper leak, Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls, where crores of voters are systematically knocked off. Apparently, Rahul Gandhi is keen on joint political action on such burning issues. So far, the Allies have stayed away, as the Congress is running its own campaigns on these issues. Through joint political action, the Opposition can build an Alternative Narrative to capture the imagination of the people, is his underlying belief. 

Similarly, Rahul Gandhi tried to disabuse minds of the Allies of certain wrong notions, like Social Media Platforms being free, compared to mainstream media. "If you are under the impression that Social Media is fair and that the Opposition is being supported by it, you are living in a different reality. The entire architecture – Media, Social Media, Legal System, Bureaucracy, Intelligence Agencies – is aligned to keep this Government in power," was his refrain.

The Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee was convinced that the party was sweeping the recent West Bengal Assembly election. At the INDIA Bloc meeting, Rahul Gandhi said he kept telling TMC, you are in dreamland. He had seen it happen in Gujarat in 2017, in Chhattisgarh in 2023, in Haryana and Maharashtra in 2024, with States slipping out of hands, following stealing of the mandate. Yet many in the TMC were not convinced, till the results finally hit them in the face.

Rahul Gandhi has changed. He is ready to work with the Allies. If the INDIA Bloc agrees to act in tandem with the Congress, then, the political challenge is neither difficult, nor insurmountable. 2029 can see a turnaround in national politics. However the Allies are willing to cooperate will ultimately determine the outcome. 

(Venkat Parsa is a senior journalist.)