The Reincarnation Of Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi has been displaying an all-new charisma as a politician of late, successfully shedding his reluctant politician image. The BJP may have won the Gujarat elections, but only after a tough fight. And, this change in scenario has to be attributed to Rahul Gandhi’s positive re-emergence. With his new avatar, he will certainly be a force to reckon with in the 2019 general elections.

- Suchitra Iyer

Ever since he tentatively stepped into the political arena, not many politically conscious people or otherwise took Rahul Gandhi and his politics seriously. More often than not, he was perceived as a weak leader and a reluctant politician. Not to mention the various trolls and memes that have been attributed to his many goof-ups and foot in the mouth blunders at rallies and other meetings. Videos of his gaffes are viral at any given point of time and have been a source of jibes even for those far removed from politics. He has been dubbed as ‘slow’, ‘unintelligent’ and ‘not well-informed’ too often. It will take another chapter, in fact, to write about his many howlers. Not just this, he has perennially been at the receiving end for being the Gandhi family’s prince charming—as someone who will simply inherit the fortunes of India’s prominent political family and the party—whether he deserves it or not.

Meanwhile, to go back a little in time, the Gandhi family heir entered the political arena in 2004 when he contested from Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, a Lok Sabha constituency that had been held by his family for years. The Congress was losing its ground in Uttar Pradesh at that time. And, the announcement by Rahul gave rise to scepticism amongst the Congress supporters who were hoping that his sister, Priyanka Vadra, the more charismatic and sharper of the two siblings, would take over the family’s political mantle. However, Rahul won the elections with a margin of over 100,000, much to the relief of his party people.