Sir — This refers to the article “Rahul Gandhi is back with a bang, may be” (May 1) by Kalyani Shankar. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is now putting up a calculated performance to earn some political points, after returning from his 56-day-long sabbatical, which seemed to have put a question mark on his credentials as a serious politician.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of scepticism (even within his own party) about the sincerity and depth of his sudden burst of energy, against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s way of functioning and his hypocritical concern for ‘farmers’, whom his party had blissfully ignored when it was in power in this past decade.
The recent speeches, jibes and political stunts may have perhaps enthused some low-level party workers and the ‘loyal’ brigade among the top leaders. But let’s not forget that the next Parliamentary election is four years away. Sustaining this momentum — and that’s assuming there is some to begin with — for such a long period of time is almost impossible.
Also, considering the ennui that the Congress and its top leaders have already induced in the people, and the UPA’s scam tainted governance over the last 10 years, one seriously doubts if Mr Gandhi has been able to make a fresh start that will take him and his party places.