After a nearly two-month-long sabbatical that left his party embarrassed and the country agog with speculation about his whereabouts, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned home on Thursday. His “leaked” flight tickets showed that Rahul flew to Bangkok on February 16 and took a return flight to Delhi on April 16 from the Suvarnabhumi Airport there.
Even though there was no formal announcement from the party about how and where its peripatetic “yuvraj” spent his sojourn, but according to bits and pieces of information filtering out from the party, from Bangkok the Congress vice-president flew to Yangon in Myanmar and then retreated to a monastery for some meditation and soul-searching.
Even before Rahul arrived at his 12 Tughlak lane Bungalow here, his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well as his sister Priyanka were already waiting for him. The scene outside was one of celebration — party workers raised slogans and burst crackers — as if the Gandhi scion had returned home after some great heroics. After spending two hours at his residence, Rahul visited 10 Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi.
Rahul arrived at 11.15 am on a Thai Airways plane and was driven home with his security personnel in tow. Now that Rahul is back, the power tussle between the old guard and youth brigade is likely to intensify. While it is expected that Rahul will be anointed as the party president next month, lobbying for inclusion in his team could dominate the Congress’ internal politics over the next few weeks.
At stake will be the future of several ageing and veteran Congress leaders who have directly or indirectly indicated their “comfort” level at working under Sonia. This is being interpreted in Congress circles as their disapproval of Rahul’s style of functioning.
A rejuvenated Rahul will make his first public appearance on April 19 when he will lead a mega Congress rally against the Centre’s land Acquisition Bill. In the past, Rahul has strongly come out against the land Bill, and the protest will be watched keenly for any sign of transformation in the Congress vice-president after the sabbatical.
According to party sources, plans are underway to organise an interaction between Rahul and a delegation of farmers on Friday. He is also likely to meet AICC office-bearers and then visit his Parliamentary constituency Amethi where posters declaring him “missing” appeared a few weeks ago. Sources said the decision on Rahul’s elevation might come up for discussion in the CWC meeting likely to be scheduled early next week.
“He is back and I have no doubt that he will not only take proactive measures but also provide leadership with dynamism and commitment,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said. AICC head spokesman Randeep Surjewala said that his return has infused workers with enthusiasm.
The Kisan-Khet rally also assumes significance as it is being held on the eve of the opening of the second phase of the Budget Session of Parliament and at a time when the Government has repromulgated the land Acquisition Ordinance.
Defending Rahul for taking such a long leave, senior party leader Renuka Chaudhary said, “Media should not speculate on Rahul’s personal life. It is the time for everyone in Congress to collectively move ahead. We already have a party president, Rahul is vice-president. Rahul has been an integral part of Congress for 11 years. The Youth Congress was Rahul’s idea. He has always been active”.
During Rahul’s absence, several party leaders including former Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh and Sheila Dikshit came out in the open, pitching for Sonia Gandhi to continue as president and raised questions over his leadership skills.
BJP greeted Rahul Gandhi’s return with sarcasm and asked him to tell the people whether or not he wanted to continue in politics. While Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said it was a “concern” for Congress that Rahul was making news for his “disappearance” and “appearance”, party spokesman Sambit Patra stated that the Congress vice-president as well his party is confused and the grand old party is looking at a “vertical split”.
“Congress is confused because it does not know what it has to do with Rahul, whether to elevate him or marginalise him,” Patra said as he spoke about a “vertical split” in the party. Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena said it was high time that the Congress scion stopped worrying about the country and his party and started thinking about himselves.