Rahul Gandhi must have freedom to choose
Now that Mr Rahul Gandhi is back after a nearly two-month break, during which he is said to have introspected on his role and on the politics of the Congress, the buzz over his takeover of the party as its president has begun to do the rounds again, with added vigour. It is not clear whether the elevation will happen, or whether Mr Gandhi himself is keen on it, at this point in time. But if he is willing, there is nobody in the Congress who can prevent the promotion. He could have become a Minister in Mr Manmohan Singh's Government, but he had held out on the offer. His ascent from general secretary to vice president had happened in good time. But if party president Sonia Gandhi decides the occasion is ripe, it will be only fair that Mr Gandhi gets the team he wants, to reshape the Congress and make it fighting fit for the electoral and the perceptional battles ahead.
No leader would want to be saddled with people he does not trust or does not believe they can deliver, or those that are not in tune with his overview of the party and the direction it should take. As vice president, Mr Gandhi has worked with many fetters — primary among them being a system that he has come to dislike and believe has failed. If a leader has to accept full accountability, then he must have full authority as well. It is clear from the way things have emerged over the years, especially in the run-up to the lok Sabha election and in his attempts to ‘democratise' the party, that the larger machination of the Congress has got the better of him, leaving him perhaps disheartened at worst and circumspect at best. The problem is: He has not helped matters by being less than dogged in his pursuit of the makeover he wants the party to have. His level of sustained engagement has been low, and his sense of distraction rather high. This has led even his diehard supporters within the Congress to wonder whether Mr Gandhi is in for the long haul or is a fleeting politician. That such doubts should remain about a leader who has been a Member of Parliament for a decade and is the second-most powerful person in his party, is disturbing.
What has further not helped his cause is the string of defeats the Congress has suffered over the recent years, when he was seen to be leading from the front — in itself a rarity. The party lost the Assembly elections in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh despite Mr Gandhi being the face of the Congress in those States and his aggressive campaigning. Only last year, the party plunge to its lowest ever tally in the lok Sabha poll, although the party vice president had been virtually pitted as an alternative to Mr Narendra Modi, whom the Congress spared no efforts to demonise. These defeats strengthened the hands of those who believe the vice president is not yet ready, if not altogether fit, to lead the party. In the last few days, there have been voices from senior party leaders expressing faith in Ms Sonia Gandhi at this ‘critical hour' and hinting that Mr Gandhi is not equipped to take on the mantle. Of course, there are also those who are pitching for his elevation as president, arguing that he can deliver if he is given a chance. But the divide in opinion is something that neither Ms Gandhi nor the vice president can ignore while taking a final call on the issue.