By Neeta Lal
As D-day nears, with results to India's 15th Lok Sabha (Lower House) elections due to be announced on May 16, Rahul Gandhi, 38, general secretary of the Congress Party and fourth-generation scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, kicked up a political storm by announcing his party's intentions to reach out to any and every potential ally to form the next government in Delhi. This includes the left parties which nearly toppled the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition due to differences over the India-US civilian nuclear deal last July.
In what is being termed as an "explosive" press conference in the national capital of New Delhi on May 5, Gandhi outlined his audacious post-poll agenda by making overtures to not only the left, but even to staunch allies of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA), such as Bihar's Janata Dal (United) and Tamil Nadu's main opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), terming them as “like-minded parties”.
The young politician simultaneously bestowed praise on erstwhile Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party, Congress' arch rival in the state and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal United, much to the chagrin of old allies like Lalu Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party. Both Prasad and Paswan are engaged in a bitter battle for survival in Bihar.
However, in a politically loaded development, most parties remained cold to the young Gandhi's overtures - or at least pretended to be. Nitish Kumar thanked him for the effusive praise but quipped that he was with the NDA and working hard for its victory.
The left similarly rebuffed Gandhi, stating that his remarks accentuated the ruling Congress' "desperation" in mustering enough support to form a government. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was expectedly acerbic. "We're not privy to the reason for Rahul Gandhi's unfounded confidence. Gandhi's remark vindicates the BJP stand that the UPA will emerge as political debris in the post-poll scenario, scavenging for survival," said party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy to the media.
The UPA and the right-wing BJP-led NDA are the main contenders in the general election scheduled to end on May 13 after a month of voting in which polls have been conducted in 543 constituencies across the country. However, with a fractured verdict likely, it seems the Congress has - via Rahul - sent feelers out to just about anybody who could be an ally.
But after Gandhi's "let's-all-get-together" stance, Congress managers were left frenetically placating existing allies by requesting they not to read too much into his statements. The situation got particularly sensitive in West Bengal, where the highly strung Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee threatened to call off an electoral pact if the Congress expressed interest in doing business with her bitterest rival - the left.
A flurry of explanatory phone calls, including one from the office of Congress party president and Rahul Gandhi's mother, Sonia Gandhi, failed to appease Banerjee, whose party workers spewed venom at Congress at every given platform. Trinamool seniors even expressed fears that Gandhi's statements might jeopardize the Congress-Trinamool alliance. The party is worried that Congress just might have upset its apple cart, even as polling for its 28 party seats is yet to be concluded, while for most of the Congress party's 14 seats it is already over.
Trouble was brewing in Tamil Nadu, too, over Rahul Gandhi's remarks. Dravida Munnethra Kazhagham chief and state chief minister M Karunanidhi was antagonized with his open offer to AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa for a post-poll alliance. As a consequence, Sonia Gandhi - who was scheduled to have addressed a joint rally with Karunanidhi in Chennai this week - hurriedly canceled her trip to the state.
Even as this pan-India political drama raged in Congress allies' camps, experts debated the impact of the incident at the hustings, with opinion sharply divided.
It could be that his remarks will alter the trajectory of his political career. They revealed facets of his personality - like audacity and aggression - nobody knew he possessed. Moreover, they mark his coming of age as a politician and as former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's son.
Until the Congress campaigning began this season, Gandhi had been one of the choir boys in the Congress orchestra conducted by his redoubtable mother Sonia. He was never seen as anything more than a party worker, albeit a famous one, while his mother called all the shots and his sister Priyanka Vadra symbolized the party's media-friendly visage. But now, the tide could have turned for momma's boy. His increased assertion in party affairs may well change the course of the Congress' hierarchical dynamics over the next few months.
Experts feel that Gandhi's rigorous campaigning across 23 states in which he has addressed 109 election meetings may well have contributed to his new and assertive style. This experience has also helped him emerge as the Congress' face and voice, overtaking his mother.
This augurs well for the politician, especially because his performance in parliament has so far been nothing to write home about. His political maturity over the course of these elections has helped shape him as a leader with potential. He has even displayed traits like strategic thinking and straight talk, while his candor, say party insiders, marks a change from his mother's opaque style of functioning.
Much to the delight of observers, the politico has even admitted that it was “undemocratic” that the Congress was still dominated by a Gandhi. "But it's the reality ... My position gives me certain privileges ... It is a fact of life in India that success in politics depends on who you know or are related to," he said at a press conference. "I want to change the system of which I am a result. It's ironic, but that's the way it is."
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