Opinion: How can Rahul Gandhi stop being a public relations disaster? He should get married

The Gandhi scion cannot succeed in politics until he diverts the nation's attention to his personal life.

There is no bigger public relations disaster in this country than Rahul Gandhi. If there was any hope for him, he threw it all away by coming across as inept in an infamous interview with Arnab Goswami weeks before the 2014 general election. Rahul Gandhi’s image of a daft young boy who refuses to grow up has stuck, and stuck so badly that even serious columnists call him “pappu”.

Focus: How Can Rahul Gandhi Stop Being A PR Disaster?

The news today that the Congress VP has sought leave from Congress to reflect on 'recent events' has mystified many.

As the budget session of Parliament begins today, the Congress seems to have pre-empted questions about its missing Vice President Rahul Gandhi by letting it be known that he has been "granted a leave of absence for a few weeks after which he will return and resume his active participation in the affairs of the Congress party". 

Some of those who have followed the career of the Congress dynast as a parliamentarian, are of course left mystified by this news item: for when has he actively participated in the affairs of the Congress?

Can The 'New Gandhi' Revive Grand Old Party’s Fortunes?

By Priya Shergill / INN Live

Born to India’s “first family”, it is but a cinch that Rahul Gandhi would join political, minus the rough and tumble. With a legacy that extends from Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, to his grandmother late prime minister Indira Gandhi and his father late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, expectation ride high on heir apparent Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi announced his entry into politics in March 2004. He quickly jumped into the electoral fray by contesting from Amethi, his father’s erstwhile constituency, in the May 2004 elections.

Focus: Rahul Gandhi’s 'Grand Plan' To 'Revamp Congress'

The Nehru-Gandhi scion has been strategising for months in preparation for his ascendance to the party president’s post. This is what he plans to do to bring Congress back into power.

It is now certain that the Reluctant Prince, shedding his hesitation, is all set to take charge of the 130-year-old Congress party very soon. The revelation caps a week of fervid chatter by the commentariat on Rahul Gandhi’s political career, where it analysed his two-week leave of absence and judged everything from his lack of dynamism to naïve sincerity, his lethargy and indifference to sudden bounce, and his transition from a tragic heir to a fleeting radical.

By M H Ahssan

With India's general elections due before May, a carefully calibrated chorus is emanating from the ruling Indian National Congress party camp about its chairperson, Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi, as a strong contender for the prime minister's post.

No sooner did the results of the recent state assembly elections - in which Congress snagged three out of five states - trickle in that Congress leaders quickly seized on the opportunity to launch All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Rahul Gandhi as the party's new mascot. Claiming that he had played a "crucial" role in the party's success at the hustings, Rahul, 38, was heralded as the nation's next "youth icon".

Fortuitously for Gandhi, many recent political developments have coalesced to his advantage. For starters, a majority of his nominees for party tickets in the assembly elections won with huge margins. Out of 32 candidates from the Indian Youth Congress, 22 emerged victorious. In Delhi, four out of five leaders nominated by Gandhi earned victories. Other Gandhi-affiliated winners numbered six in Rajasthan, eight in Madhya Pradesh, two in Mizoram and one in Chhattisgarh.

At a post-elections press briefing, senior Congress leader and AICC leader Veerappa Moily breathlessly extolled Rahul's virtues, calling him the party's "star attraction". Moily's remarks only help underscore the Congress party's larger game plan to raise the Gandhi scion's profile in the buildup to the general elections.

Even if Gandhi's campaigning has produced only mixed results in the state elections that were dominated by regional leaders and local issues, the party thinks its overall success gives it leverage to cast Rahul in a bigger role.

There's no denying that the Congress was extremely wary of unveiling its "prized asset". Gandhi's role was limited to sporadic public appearances in which he made politically correct noises (poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, youth leadership and so on). This was key to deflecting perceptions that the Congress was being overzealous - or impatient - in anointing him as the party's next supremo.

Had it not been for the Congress' good performance in state elections, the party would have deferred its plans to unveil the latest Gandhi for bigger responsibilities. But having achieved a modicum of success - with Congress chief minister Sheila Dixit emerging victorious for a record third time in Delhi - and issues like terror and inflation not cutting much ice with voters, the Congress feels it can go ahead with the coronation of its prince. (Please see Secrets of a three-time winner
, December 13, 2008.)

If the Congress had been vanquished in the Delhi elections, the brickbats would have fallen on Dixit. The positive outcome negated the perception of an anti-incumbency wave, and party loyalists are now priming the Gandhi heir to take his place in the sun.

According to AICC functionary Prithvi Raj Chavan, Rahul Gandhi will now play a bigger role in the party. "He has become the third pole in the Congress after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi," said Chavan at a press conference.

Still, apart from the Gandhi "brand", what does the young politician bring to the table? For one thing, age. In a national political landscape crowded with octogenarians and nonagenarians (the main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party's chief L K Advani, a key prime minister aspirant, for instance is 81 years old), Rahul is being groomed to attract a crucial demographic - the under-35 Indian voter who makes up 65% of India's 1.1 billion population. There will also be a gargantuan vote bank of some 100 million first time voters for the 2009 elections.

Rahul is a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the most prominent political family in India. His father was former premier Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991. Rahul was 14 years old when his grandmother, prime minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated. His great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first prime minister of India, and his great-great-grandfather Motilal Nehru was a distinguished leader of the Indian independence movement.

"Rahul has emerged as a lead campaigner for the party because he has a great appeal for the youth of the country and Youth Congress workers," said a party worker. "He has contributed enormously to rejuvenate the campaigning style of the 123-year-old party." In fact the party's victory in Rajasthan is being attributed to the widely circulated photograph of Gandhi carrying mud as part of shram daan, a ritual symbolizing him as the son of the soil. The purpose was to further the aam-aadmi (common man) spiel, and downplay Rahul Gandhi's Western upbringing and aristocratic lineage.

The metamorphosis of Rahul Gandhi from a shy and dimpled member of parliament who gave the impression of being a diligent student of parliamentary politics into a zealous organizational leader of the Indian National Congress can't be discounted. Few can forget his diffident maiden speech in parliament, on education, which was read out - sans any emotion - like a school essay rather than the spunky narrative of a prime ministerial hopeful.

Gandhi's baptism into the hurly burly of politics began at the Congress' 82nd plenary session in Hyderabad in 2006, after which he was inducted as a general secretary and was firmly set on the path to a coveted role in the government. Current events, however, have propelled a far-more-confident Gandhi to even loftier heights.

Few Congress allies are averse to the party's "Rahul-as-premier" pitch. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a partner of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), has lent its support with DMK patriarch and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi welcoming the suggestion of the young Gandhi as the UPA's prime ministerial candidate. Even the Left parties - to whom candidates like the current PM Dr Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P C Chidamabaram may be anathema - are a tad more accepting.

Despite the strident promotion of Rahul, the Congress party itself has officially not made any comment on the leadership issue. Sonia Gandhi snubbed voters who struck up a chant for Rahul's nomination for prime minister. Manmohan was doing a fine job, said party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan.

The Congress is still to announce its prime minister candidate for the coming Lok Sabha, India's Lower House of parliament, elections. In the past, current Prime Minister Manmohan was propped up as a potential candidate for the 2009 polls, with party leader Sonia Gandhi herself putting the stamp on Singh's candidacy at a press event last year. According to one theory, however, Sonia Gandhi inducted Manmohan as premier in 2004 just to keep the prime minister's seat warm for Rahul who was still politically inexperienced.

However, even as Rahul Gandhi gathers credit for the Congress' successful performance in the state elections, many feel he's yet to make a tangible impact on the party's election prospects. For instance, the Congress' win in Delhi was really Dixit's win. In Rajasthan, where the Gandhis campaigned extensively, it was actually unassuming Ashok Gehlot who trounced established royalty - the feisty ex-chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia of the the right-wing BJP.

Rahul Gandhi appears to realize that his legacy and charisma may no longer be sufficient to secure victory. It was perhaps due to this that he changed the nomination culture in the Congress party by holding Indian Youth Congress elections at the block, district and state levels. He has also made the right noises about the party's dynastic culture and lack of internal democracy, admitting he was a "symptom" of what is wrong with Indian politics.

If he succeeds in putting a new order in place, he might earn his place in the Congress hierarchy. But there will be resistance from senior Congress leaders who have been in queue for prime minister long before Rahul. Meanwhile, the Congress would do well to think beyond dynastic politics and proactively address problems within the organization that have haunted it in election after election.

That - not Rahul Gandhi - will be the true litmus test for India's Congress party in 2009.

Varun Outshines Rahul in Parliament

By Dr.Subhash Kapila

One of the unintended consequences of the Anna Hazare movement which peaked in August end with a Parliament discussion on his main demands for breaking off his fast was to throw up vividly the marked comparison in terms of political abilities and political impact potential between Varun Gandhi and his first cousin Rahul Gandhi. Both grandsons of late Indira Gandhi in different political dispensations spoke in the Parliament debate on Anna Hazare.

In public perceptions Varun Gandhi created a more positive political impact with his political composure, political gravitas and his speech marked by extempore delivery masterfully done. Rahul Gandhi in the run-in for succeeding Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh had raised great hopes that he would seize the occasion to establish his political credentials in a moment of crisis. Rahul Gandhi angrily read out a four page written text on the subject and highly critical of the mass political upheaval. That Rahul Gandhi could not seize the moment politically, the blame should rest on his political mentors within the Congress Party and his political spin masters.

The Indian media was quick to seize this unintended consequence and has gone to own with analyses that it seemed that Rahul Gandhi was not yet ready to assume the political leadership of India and some within his Party suggesting that maybe he wants to spend more time to strengthen the Party organization before he bids for the top slot. So much doubting on his political prowess has taken place that some analysts went on to suggest that the Congress Party Plan B should cater for his sister Priyanka Gandhi replacing him as heir to the dynasty.

Politically, all eyes would now be riveted on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections next year to assess Rahul Gandhi’s political fortunes. Even if the Congress Party does not win power in Uttar Pradesh next year but substantially increases its share of winning Assembly seats, that achievement would be politically credited as Rahul Gandhi’s political gain. However that itself seems to be debatable.

Varun Gandhi is certainly not in the race for Prime Minister as his Party the BJP has more than a handful of strong contenders for the Prime Minister’s office in 2014. But for political analysts drawing political comparisons between the two Gandhi family cousins would continue to be inevitable. It makes good copy especially for those who abhor dynastic politics and dynastic leadership within the Congress Party.

Regrettably for Rahul Gandhi India’s political environment is presently not in favor of the Congress Party and hence for Rahul Gandhi also to launch his bid for Prime Ministership. The Congress Party stock has fallen markedly in public perceptions as a result of the cascade of unending political corruption scams of unprecedented proportions. Then is what is being described by the political opposition parties as a civil war in the upper echelons of Congress Party political leaders and especially between the Home Minister and the Finance Minister.

More significantly is the growing alienation of India’s middle classes from the Congress Party especially after the Congress Part’s mismanagement of the Anna Hazare mass political upheaval and the earlier suppression of Baba Ram Dev’s movement at Ram Lila Maidan in New Delhi by use of brute police power.

All of these above are tremendous political pressures on Rahul Gandhi and could distract him from the orderly succession scripted for him by the Congress President and the Congress Party political machine.

Comparatively his first cousin Varun Gandhi has no such political distractions weighing in heavily on his political fortunes or his political path. Varun Gandhi does not enjoy or has at his command a subservient political machine to bolster his political fortunes. Politically whatever he has achieved working his way up through BJP ranks is on his own strengths and convictions however much many may differ with him.

In times to come one will always be presented by political comparisons between the two Gandhi first cousins.

Rahul’s Outburst: A Watershed Moment In Indian Politics

By M H Ahssan / INN Live

Barely two days before his outburst against the UPA government’s ordinance to counter a Supreme Court order disqualifying MPs and MLAs convicted in a criminal case, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi‘s body language had become a talking point among Pune’s editors and senior journalists. 

Rather unusually, Gandhi had held a 90-minutue long informal exchange with a select group of journalists at the Balewadi stadium in Pune. This was the second leg of his Maharashtra tour and Gandhi took everyone by surprise, especially the top editors in Delhi, who later came to know that he had spoken extensively and informally on a range of subjects. 

Exposed Rahul: A Watershed Moment In Indian Politics?

By M H Ahssan / INN Live

Barely two days before his outburst against the UPA government’s ordinance to counter a Supreme Court order disqualifying MPs and MLAs convicted in a criminal case, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi‘s body language had become a talking point among Pune’s editors and senior journalists. 

Rather unusually, Gandhi had held a 90-minutue long informal exchange with a select group of journalists at the Balewadi stadium in Pune. This was the second leg of his Maharashtra tour and Gandhi took everyone by surprise, especially the top editors in Delhi, who later came to know that he had spoken extensively and informally on a range of subjects. 

Who Can Replace Rahul Gandhi In Congress Young Turks?

Rahul Gandhi’s decision to go on a sabbatical just ahead of the Budget session has left the Congress in a tizzy and party spokespersons are having a tough time explaining the move. Battered and bruised in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress was hoping to play the ‘role’ of an Opposition, and the controversial Land Acquisition Bill was a perfect issue to start with. 

Notably, this Bill had the imprints of Rahul Gandhi when the UPA was in power and wanted to clear it in Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress Crown Prince, Takes Charge

Rahul Gandhi is now the official number 2 of the Congress, designated vice-president and with only his mother, Sonia Gandhi, as his boss. The elevation came after months of anticipation and years of clamour from an adoring Congress, a party hard-wired to expect generations of Nehru-Gandhis to lead it.

So ever since he made his political debut nine years ago, there has been a growing chorus in the rank and file of India's oldest party demanding that Mr Gandhi, who represents the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family in politics in Independent India, to take on a greater role in the party and government. In Jaipur, as the party met to devise its strategy for the 2014 general elections, it reached a fevered pitch.

Mr Gandhi's elevation was inevitable; Congress leaders admitted it was just a matter of when he was ready to accept the "bigger role." He is the great grandson of India's first Prime Minister, the grandson of its first woman Prime Minister, the son of its youngest Prime Minister and also of the party's longest-serving chief, Sonia Gandhi. Congressmen expect him to head the party and be India's Prime Minister one day. Among the loudest demands in Jaipur this weekend, was that he be declared the party's candidate for Prime Minister in 2014.

Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on June 19, 1970 to Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi, their first child. He grew up in the non-political part of the family. Rajiv, his father, a commercial pilot, was not Indira Gandhi's intended political heir; his uncle, Sanjay Gandhi was. But Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash in 1980, forcing a reluctant Rajiv Gandhi to enter politics. Just four years later, in 1984, Indira Gandhi's  assassination would propel him to the forefront of the Congress and see him become India's youngest Prime Minister at age 40. 

Twenty years later, Rahul Gandhi, then 34, was another reluctant entrant into the political fray. Mr Gandhi first fought the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, contesting from the traditional family constituency of Amethi, which his father had once held. As he campaigned, Amethi embraced him warmly, fondly making comparisons between father and son. The people of Amethi had no doubt then that they were sending India's future Prime Minister to Parliament.   

In an electoral upset, the Congress wrested power that year from the BJP-led NDA and has not let go since. In the nine years of UPA rule, there was much speculation every few months that Rahul Gandhi would join government or accept a fancy designation within the party. But he only became one of the party's general secretaries in September 2007 and accepted charge of the Indian Youth Congress and National Students Union of India (NSUI).

His supporters insist that he must be credited with initiating reforms in the party -- such as elections to the youth Congress, corporate-style interviews for selection to the party, and pushing for democratisation of the Congress party. 

KJ Rao, a former Election Commission observer, says, "He stood by his words, when he said that no person with a criminal background would be allowed to contest elections in the Youth Congress and NSUI." 

But there have been persistent question marks over Mr Gandhi's ability to translate his personal charisma and ideas for the party into votes when it matters.  He chose winning back Uttar Pradesh (UP) - once a Congress stronghold and where it has been out of power for a long while - as the centre-piece of his electoral agenda. He made several high-profile visits to the homes of Dalits in the state to win their support. He even took then British foreign secretary David Miliband on one of his rural night-stays in UP. But, in both 2007 and 2012, he was unable to help the Congress post significant gains. 

In 2012, in fact, the Congress got four seats less than it did in 2007, winning just 28 out of the 404, despite the much-touted 'Rahul factor'. Another young leader, Akhilesh Yadav, rode a tidal wave of support for his Samajwadi Party to become Chief Minister.  

Rahul Gandhi took the blame squarely on the chin. He made a rare appearance before television cameras and said, "I led the campaign from the front, and the responsibility for the loss lies with me." He then turned and walked away, his arm around his younger sister and staunchest supporter, Priyanka Gandhi. 

UP was not Mr Gandhi's first electoral misadventure. In the 2010 Bihar Assembly elections, Mr Gandhi famously urged the Congress to fight alone, without alliances. The Congress won just four seats in a 243-seat Assembly. His political rivals smirked, questioning his political acumen and ability to deliver electoral success for the party. 

Nitish Kumar, the Bihar chief minister, ridiculed Mr Gandhi: "He wants to become the prime minister of India. First let him at least become the chief minister of a state. Let him learn governance." Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said, "Our opponents think that elections can be fought and won only on the basis of the charisma of families."

The Congress defended him stoutly. Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid had then said, "Mr Rahul Gandhi came into the campaign with an attitude of courage. He said, 'I am going there to build the Congress,' and not necessarily to fight and win an election. It was too early to fight and win an election."

He has faced much criticism also on being reticent about sharing is views on crucial issues. Most recently, he was panned for his belated and bland statement following the brutal gang-rape of a medical student in Delhi in December 2012. The man whom the Congress calls its young face could not connect with the youth who took to the streets of Delhi by the thousands to protest the incident and the government's incompetent handling of its aftermath. His 66-year-old mother's simple but powerful appeal on the same day made many compare the response of the two leaders.

But Congress veterans and young guns alike say they are sure Mr Gandhi is the man to galvanise the party and lead it to a third straight victory in the Lok Sabha elections slated for next year. They credit him with promoting young faces in the Congress and his close aides say he has detailed political knowledge and is a practised backroom operator. Upon his elevation, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot said, "It has energised the party workers throughout the nation. We will go to the next Lok Sabha election with a renewed vigour now. Rahul will be a unifying force for Congress."

Political observers say that there will be no overnight transformation in the Congress thanks to Mr Gandhi's ascent to the no. 2 position. "Mrs Sonia Gandhi is, by temperament, cautious and wants to accommodate senior, established leaders. Rahul, of course, wants to promote more of his contemporaries... for a few years we will see a Congress that has both the old and the new," political scientist Zoya Hasan told HNN.

Mr Gandhi, a bachelor, was educated in India and in the US and has worked in London. In his political avatar, he favours a white kurta pyjama with sports shoes and often sports a stubble or sometimes even a full beard. Till some years ago, he was spotted sometimes racing a motorcycle in Delhi with his brother- in-law Robert Vadra, much to the chagrin of those charged with his security. 

They have often also been stretched as Mr Gandhi, who has the highest-level security, has slipped into crowds of people and mingled with them. He rode pillion on a motorcycle one early morning to reach the site of farmers' protests in Bhatta-Parsaul village in Uttar Pradesh. Or another time, got into a local train in Mumbai to reach the venue of a political meet. 

Opinion: Is Rahul Gandhi A 'Hit And Run Politician?

By Vivek Kaul (Guest Writer)

Rahul Gandhi is angry again. Yesterday, he barged into a press conference being addressed by Congress general secretary Ajay Maken and announced that the ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet to protect convicted legislators from complete disqualification as “complete nonsense”. 
The Supreme Court had ruled on July 10, that an MP or an MLA, if convicted by a court in a criminal offence with a jail sentence of two years or more, would be immediately disqualified. On September 24, the Union Cabinet cleared the the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2013 to negate the Supreme Court ruling. 

Die Another Day: Rahul Gandhi’s Secret Election Strategy

By Pallavi Verma | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT You’ve got to hand it to RaGa. This probably sounds like an oxymoron right now. With the Modi train running in full steam and the BJP well on its way to gaining a majority in the upcoming elections, any word even faintly in favour of the Congress, especially the Gandhi clan, sounds ludicrous right now.

But, let’s step back a bit from the chaos and have a look at Rahul Gandhi, through a slightly more rational eye. He’s certainly not a born political leader, unlike, say his late grandmother or his father. He makes the most bizarre statements wherever he goes, adding to the repertoire of Indian comedy writers, almost every month. It’s pretty much accepted that the leadership position has been foisted on him; it’s certainly not something which he’s comfortable with.

Rahul Gandhi Ready To Marry, Give India A 'Royal Baby'

By Paagal Patrkaar / Delhi

In a startling announcement, Rahul Gandhi has declared that he will give India her very own Royal Baby. Sonia Gandhi, backing her son’s decision, has acknowledged that Rahul hasn’t worked too well for the country and its time for another baby. Speculation is rife on who the mother-to-be will be. The media has been camping outside the Rahul Gandhi’s quarters on 12, Tughlak Lane, New Delhi for the past 48 hours since this announcement, capturing footage of every secretary/ female attendant who has thus walked into Rahul Gandhi’s chambers.

“There needs to be some kind of expectation management,” complained Digvijaya Singh. “This is Rahul Gandhi, not Bill Clinton. And the Royal Baby is not some jhat-pat two minute Maggi noodles!”

One Parivaar Ruled, Grand Old Party Or Grand Old Family?

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

The grand old party of India cannot do without the Gandhis. Just as it was in 1998, the Congress is facing an existential crisis due to the ' NaMo challenge' and the rise of aam aadmi . What else but the Nehru- Gandhi aura can save the party from being pushed into oblivion? So, it has to be Rahul, the Gandhi scion, on whom the party is falling back for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. 

It is the repeat of history of sorts: in 1998, it was Rahul's mother Sonia Gandhi who led the Congress charge. True, the Congress was out of power till 2004 and the country had a BJP government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Rahul Gandhi Wins Hide-And-Seek Game On His Birthday

By Arvind Sharma / New Delhi

It’s just a few minutes before 19th June i.e. PappuDiwas birthday of Rahul Gandhi comes to an end, but no one knows where exactly the young Vice President of the Congress party.

There were rumors of him being in Spain, but since it was suggested by Subramanian Swamy on Twitter, there was confusion if Spain referred to a country or some code-word like TDK, CRT, PT, et al.

However, towards the end of the day, the Congress party clarified that Rahul Gandhi had planned an elaborate Hide-and-Seek game (also known as Luka-Chhupi in Hindi) on the occasion of his birthday, and he had won the game as no one could find where he was hiding.

Congress Crisis Deepens As Its Support Base Crumbles

Decimated in Delhi, the party draws solace from humiliation heaped on Modi.

Once it became clear that the Congress was all set for a wipe-out in the Delhi assembly polls, a group of party workers gathered outside the party office headquarters on Tuesday morning to demand that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra play a more active role in politics.

The all-too familiar slogans, “Priyanka lao, Congress bachao” were again raised, similar to the demand made after the party was routed in last year’s Lok Sabha election and subsequently in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls.

Why Congress Is Hesitant To Name Rahul As PM Nominee?

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

ANALYSIS Most other parties in the poll fray, including newbie AAP, might have zeroed in on a Prime Ministerial candidate prior to the upcoming general elections, but the Congress seems still hesitant about declaring their PM nominee. Though party Vice President Rahul Gandhi had stoked hopes that an announcement would be made sooner rather than later, after he told INN Live that he is ready to shoulder any responsibility given to him by the Congress. 

According to confirmed sources, Rahul will not be formally made Congress' PM candidate on 17 January as speculated. Nor is such an announcement set to happen anytime soon.

Focus: Telangana Is Becoming Another 'BJP' State, KCR Transforming As A 'Mini Modi', People Frustrated With Modi & KCR: Rahul Gandhi On His Kisan Sandesh Yatra

Euphoric crowds and enthusiastic participants jostled to shake hands with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the non-descript villages along a 15 km distance in Adilabad district of Telangana.

Congress party icon personality Rahul Gandhi stormed in Telangana state with his 'Kisan Sandesh Yatra' and met with farmers and consoled them for a better future with Congress party. He said Telangana is becoming an another BJP state and its chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) is transforming as a 'mini Modiji'. Further, he commented that people of thestate are in frustrated mood with Modiji and KCR.

Congress keeps all options open

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."

Congress Smells Fear In Modi’s Amethi, Varanasi Actions

By Likha Veer | INNLIVE Bureau

SPOTLIGHT Congressmen are rubbing their hands in glee, as if they have almost won the elections. They seem to be seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel” as far as Narendra Modi is concerned. Modi’s decision to break the unwritten rule by campaigning in Amethi seems to have done more harm to the BJP’s prospects than Rahul Gandhi. 

There was pressure building on Modi to take on Rahul Gandhi directly, some were beginning to wonder whether an “adjustment” had been reached between the two sides. But Modi cancelled another rally to be in Amethi on last day of campaigning of penultimate round on 5th May and hit out big time against the Gandhi family.