From condemnation to praises, meteoric rise to fall, Rahul Gandhi has seen it all in his political journey. He entered electoral politics during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, winning his father, Rajiv Gandhi’s bastion- Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress decided to project Rahul Gandhi as the face of its future in November 2007 at the plenary session in Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium. He was made the Congress General Secretary and was preparing to become the Prime Minister. His first speech, which was meant to lay the grounds for his investiture ended in disappointment for those who considered him to be a replica of his father and the former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
Congress won in Amethi and the seat was retained by Gandhi and the party finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel.
The 2012 UP assembly elections proved to be a dampener and Gandhi come out to shoulder the responsibility.
Despite an abysmal performance so far, Rahul was elected the Vice President of the party in 2013. The very next year he began prepping for general elections 2014.
All hopes were dashed in 2014 when Modi swept elections with an unparalleled mandate. This was the start of Rahul’s misfortune. Gandhi offered to resign after the 2014 debacle but was not permitted to do so. These events in quick succession led to apprehensions about him succeeding his mother Sonia Gandhi as the party chief.
Rahul Gandhi’s tenure as the Congress party’s VP was interspersed with losses. Political corridors were abuzz with rumours that senior leaders in Congress lacked belief in Gandhi.
In a complete contradiction to what the political pundits had predicted, the scion of the Gandhi family emerged sure-footed from the loss, months after the Lok Sabha elections.
His subsequent rallies were filled with much more confidence and renewed efforts. The subsequent re-energised Rahul Gandhi was inducted as the Party President in 2017, marking the end of tenure for longest-serving Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, which lasted for almost two decades.
Rahul Gandhi faced many attacks from the powerful opposition party for his rise by the virtue of his surname. His capabilities were questioned for the lack of administrative experience outside Amethi. Critics dubbed him as a ‘reluctant prince’.
With 2019 Lok Sabha election in hindsight, the Congress chief geared up to renew Congress’s fortune. Congress’s message was clear- that the Congress is the only party that represents the ethos of India and the BJP was out to destroy communal harmony, cultural fabric and dent the plurality of the country.
After successfully pulling out stunts, both inside as well as outside the parliament, Congress sensed that perhaps the message of inclusivity was enough to garner votes. What followed in the months to come was an aggressive political campaign.
Rahul Gandhi often took a dig at Narendra Modi for the Rafale Deal, calling the prime minister a ‘chor’ for favouring Reliance as an offset partner. Gandhi alleged that Modi gave 30,000 crores to his corporate friend.
Rahul targeted Modi and Anil Ambani several times in his campaigns and speeches and also coined the slogan “Chowkidar Chor Hai”.
The BJP did not take this attack lying down. Prime Minister, turning the attack around, prefixed “chowkidar” to his name in all his social media accounts.
When it came to election manifestos, the Congress promised employment to all, introduced its flagship minimum income guarantee scheme NYAY, promised better healthcare, single tax slab, among others.
If one juxtaposes the events in the lead up to the election campaign 2019, with the results of the elections, it was difficult to predict the fall of Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress party’s performance in the General Elections 2019 was extremely poor.
The crushing defeat of the Congress party proves, one thing, Gandhi was unable to woo the voters, neither by his charisma, nor his campaign.
The loss of Amethi for the Gandhi family has proven to be extremely disappointing.
Focusing on piecemeal gains did not work in favour of the party and definitely not for Rahul Gandhi. For many, the political campaign of Rahul Gandhi lacked a long term vision and an end goal, which lead to his downfall.
The losses incurred by the Congress in this election season have posed serious questions on Rahul’s inability to survive in politics and the need to introduce fresh faces to maintain the party’s power.
After the poll loss in 2019 General Elections, Rahul Gandhi has now offered to resign as Party President. The party accepting the verdict granted Gandhi the rights to restructure the party, without resigning from the post of party chief.
The humiliating defeat in the 2019 General elections is very different from the past for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi is determined to step down and even refused to meet the party’s newly-elected lawmakers.
The big question that now arises is -who’s next? The new dilemma has brought the party to the brink of chaos.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala has urged, “everyone, including the media, to not fall into the trap of conjectures or speculations and await the calibrated efforts by the Congress party towards a future course of action.”
For many, it is time to write the political epitaph for Rahul Gandhi and for others, he still continues to be a leader. It remains to be seen if the Congress party will rise from its ashes, or is it the end of the grand old party as we know it.
Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Sends ‘Love’ & ‘Hug’ To PM Modi Over Rajiv Gandhi Remark
