Why is Congress afraid to make Rahul Gandhi party president?

When will the Congress party make up its mind about Rahul Gandhi?

Before Congress voters, or fence sitters, or those disillusioned in the two years of Modi raj can be expected to put their faith behind the party, doesn’t the party need to one, have a leader, and two, have faith in the leadership?

Congress seems to be floundering over many things, and their man in-charge is chief among them. Rahul, who was general secretary of the party from 2007 to 2013, was appointed vice-president in 2013, when Congress was getting "battle-ready" to fight the general elections.

The party suffered a resounding defeat, but Rahul has been leading the Opposition charge - from taking on BJP for the treatment of minorities and lower castes, to questioning PM Modi on the economics of "achche din". But despite sources routinely airing rumours that the Congress VP will be promoted to president, it doesn’t seem to be happening soon.

Sending out the wrong message:

For the cadres, this perceived lack of confidence in Rahul results in periodic "Priyanka lao desh bachao" placards being raised. Congress itself fuels the fire by seemingly pitting sister against brother in states such as UP when elections are coming.

Dent on Rahul Gandhi’s public image:

Congress may have its own reasons for keeping its options open, or close to its chest - (or is it, for instance, a public trial by fire like Ram did with Sita?) - but for those outside too it shows a lack of confidence within the party on Rahul Gandhi’s abilities. We are seeing this repeatedly, when many "Congress supporters" have begun to give in to opposition jargon, calling Rahul Gandhi names only slightly more sophisticated version of the trolls' "Pappu".

Rival party leaders, both of secular as well as of conservative disposition, are quick to come down heavily on Rahul – the way we saw with his "khoon ki dalaali" statement, where only UP CM Akhilesh Yadav came to his support, and reports say many even among the Congress were reluctant to back him.

Therefore, his authority is undermined both within the party and outside of it, and Congress cannot afford to go without a leader any longer as the fight for 2019 revs up.

What are the other options? 

If Congress was to change its policy and decide to go for "age and experience" – of which there are notable options, from P Chidambaram to Ghulam Nabi Azad – for the choice of "supreme leader", it would be another matter and they would be better off announcing it as soon as possible, but if they are sticking to their decision of a gen-next leader, Rahul is still the best bet.

We have seen little of the Jyotiradtiyas and Sachin Pilots on the national stage, and Rahul, to his credit, is familiar to voters with his style as well as the causes close to his heart, like the empowerment of weaker sections. Dumping a familiar known face for an unfamiliar known face is not going to help.

Priyanka Gandhi is the worst option: She has not been in active politics, unlike Rahul or Indira, before their elevation in the party, or like the other "dynasts" in Congress currently, and to suddenly give her charge would send the worst signals about dynasty and merit, the kind of perceptions that have contributed to Congress being in a dismal situation today.

Rahul Gandhi is smart and well-intentioned: 

He may not be as commanding an orator as Modi but he is seen listening to people as well as colleagues and works by consensus. A number of people with no political allegiance who have met him have noted that Rahul is bright and has a knack of genuinely understanding issues and asking the right questions on complex matters.

Congress should highlight these positive aspects of him rather than allowing opposition to get away with the "Pappu" narrative. His transparency, as opposed to Modi whose true beliefs cannot be fathomed - given that he mouths secularism even as his colleagues shoot off their mouths speaking Hindutva - should be projected as a plus.

Rahul is well aware of his privilege and plays it down, making an effort to reach out to people as well as cadres. These are good traits, and oration is not everything.

Rahul has the right instinct:

"Pappu", as people like to call him, can be fiery and doesn’t mince words. He once offered to tear up his own party’s ordinance negating SC verdict on convicted lawmakers, calling it nonsense and stating that "what our government has done is wrong".

His first instinct on the JNU arrests under the present government, was also pro-students and anti-State interference, though later he made a slight U-turn with BJP gunning for him in the name of nationalism and even Congress distancing itself from the revered love of the country the insult of which leads to sedition as per our laws, and said something on the lines of belonging to a nationalist party and being nationalist and so on.

In similar fashion, he went straight after RSS, calling them "murderers of Gandhi", then did a U-turn with Kapil Sibal by his side saying that’s not exactly what he meant but broadly - and now again, according to reports, is prepared to battle it out in court on the statement.

His "khoon ki dalaali" comment, a few days after the surgical strikes, was met with furore across the table, even though what he alleges is not incorrect – the BJP is cashing in domestically on the Army operation with posters and statements.

Perhaps Rahul and the old guard of Congress are in a tussle, but whatever the issue, the party needs to get its act together and decide that if it wants young blood to lead, it is liberal values of the young that should be at the forefront, not fuddy-duddy "nationalism", which do not distinguish it from BJP. The grand-old party has to also decide if it wants to continue using "babu language", which is no match for the language of Hindutva or of other young turks now in the political game, like Arvind Kejriwal.

In contrast, Priyanka Gandhi, who Congress loves to drag out of domesticity periodically and sections of the Congress repeatedly call to replace Rahul, doesn’t show similar instinct. Her only memorable speech was during the 2014 general elections (before the results) when she spoke confidently of BJP members as "panic-striken rats deserting the ship" of what turned out to be a historic mandate in favour of BJP.

Congress must not waste any more time in appointing its president to lead the fight for 2019. It will be in the interest of the party as well as the country.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi should thank the shoe that was hurled at him

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