Late in the afternoon on February 24, the first day of the 85th plenary session of the All India Congress Committee, as former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi arrived at the venue of the meeting in Nava Raipur, party president Mallikarjun Kharge obliged the waiting camerapersons by making Rahul pause on the steps of the building, putting his arms around his shoulders and manoeuvring him to face the flashlights.
That moment captured the excellent rapport between Kharge and Rahul. It also offered a glimpse into the respective roles that the two leaders are likely to play-while Kharge would deal with organisational responsibilities, Rahul would remain the face of the Congress. And it was also clear that Rahul, fresh from the successful completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was the centre of attention at the session.
The session was important in terms of establishing Kharge’s leadership before thousands of AICC delegates—the party’s representatives at the grassroots level. But it was clear from the very beginning that while Kharge would helm the organisation, Rahul, freed from organisational responsibilities, would lead the party’s outreach as its face and its chief communicator. If the session’s primary purpose was to ratify Kharge’s election and allow him to put in place his own team and provide him an apt occasion to spell out his vision for the party, the highlight of the event was the yatra and the difference it had made to the morale of the ordinary party worker as much as it had enhanced Rahul’s image.
Denne historien er fra March 12, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March 12, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI