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.
But what Sonia managed during those years was to keep together a party in disarray. In 2014, there is a perception that Rahul Gandhi and the old warhorses in the Congress are not on the same page. The old guards do not really see Rahul as the hope for deliverance. Behind their smiling faces of acquiescence are the wrinkles of despair and nervousness.
Rahul will have to tame this lot. In 1998, Sonia had to do the same, with just few loyalists like Ambika Soni and Ahmad Patel by her side. Rahul, fortunately for him, can fall back on her mother and sister for all the wisdom needed to keep the Congress flag flying.
The two Gandhi ladies have systematically engineered Rahul's elevation to the party's top rung. Something that is unprecedented in Congress's history. After death of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi had her days of irrelevance.
For Indira, son Sanjay Gandhi was her choice as the successor; and Sanjay was duly introduced into the party apparatus. But the baton of succession could not be passed on to him due to his untimely death in a plane crash.
From the past
Rajiv Gandhi's elevation was brought about by the assassination of Indira; and Sonia had to wait for legitimacy within the party, till the Congress understood they need the face of Gandhi family as the ultimate saviour.
Finally, when the party came back from the brink and regained power at the Centre in 2004, Sonia gave away her claim to prime minister's chair to Manmohan Singh, appreciating the perception that her Italian origin may give opposition parties a handle.
Rahul, on the other hand, had it easy with the slow but steady efforts made by Sonia and Priyanka to get the young man ready for the top job. It will take time, but both Sonia and Priyanka are trying their best to ensure Rahul comes out of his shell and takes control.
The Gandhis are in a huddle as Rahul reinvents himself from being an aloof inheritor of family legacy to someone who can live up to the expectations. He's trying to look decisive, hoping to rub off the taint of slumber and indecision of Manmohan's government.
With yet another Gandhi up and running for the Congress, the detractors and opposition parties have renewed their attacks on the family and the party for running a political dynasty. But in the end, Indians will judge Rahul and the Gandhis for what they achieve politically.
If Rahul can outsmart Narendra Modi, if he can counter the anti- incumbency mood that Congress is battling, he will earn a place in history and the sceptics in the Congress will regain their faith in the young man who is now trying to balance between the weight of his surname and the burden of UPA's tattered legacy. The Gandhis will shine bright, call it dynasty or not.
Working from the sidelines
During the 1999 elections, a young Priyanka Gandhi campaigned in favour of Congress's Satish Sharma against Arun Nehru. Priyanka said: " Jis vyakti ne apni bhai ki peeth mein chura bhonka tha usko apne chhetra mein ghusne kaise diya." In effect, Priyanka dubbed Nehru a traitor. When the results were declared, Sharma won handsomely.
Jump cut to 2013 - when Arun Nehru passed away, it was Priyanka's son who performed the last rites. And that's what defines Priyanka - her ability to reconcile with bitter enemies with élan. Therefore, it was not surprising then that Priyanka even met her father's killers to understand why they had killed Rajiv Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi held a different view and Priyanka appreciated it.
This respect for Rahul's space has not changed even now. Priyanka prefers to play her role from the sidelines, not letting her charisma overshadow her mother Sonia or brother Rahul. For them she holds a mirror, an important task, considering Rahul is yet to assert himself as an inspiring leader.
He may be in control as the Congress vice- president, but there is a perception that Rahul's acceptance within the party rank and file is not total. It is here that Priyanka becomes important as she tries to pilot Rahul's transition for the Congress top job.
She has had her share of failure too. She could not gauge the public mood during the 2012 Assembly elections in UP. But unlike her mother and brother she was quick to reach out to the people, and began spending more time in Rae Bareli and Amethi. It showed her astuteness as the granddaughter of the late Indira Gandhi.
Interestingly, Priyanka often says that her physical resemblance with her grandmother Indira doesn't mean that she has inherited the political instincts of the late PM. The message is subtle but clear: political leadership of the party rests with Rahul and she shouldn't ever be considered a parallel force. But one cannot doubt that Priyanka is a force to reckon with, if for nothing else then for the fact that politically she never ventured beyond Rae Bareli and Amethi. It is this which makes her appeal even stronger.
She connects well with the masses and is the best orator in the family. An example will suffice. In 2009, BJP leader Narendra Modi questioned why people should vote for a 100- year- old party. With her inherent wit, Priyanka retorted: " Kya mein aapko buri dekhayee detee hun... ?" But this time, it's a different situation as she will be tested by all means.
What everyone would like to know is Priyanka's probable role in case the party manages to put up a good show in the elections.
Outsiders who ' failed' to lead
" Why should the Congress party be hitched to the Nehru- Gandhi family like train compartments to the engine?" was how late P. V. Narasimha Rao ( in photo) reacted to the suggestion that Sonia Gandhi be made the Congress chief after the assassination of her husband Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. His objection, however, cost him dear when partymen rushed to Sonia after losing 1996 general elections.
As eulogies for Sonia touched a new high, Rao's supporters deserted him one by one. Rao was marginalised through a carefully worked out strategy by Sitaram Kesri. Appointed Congress president with the blessings of the Nehru- Gandhi family, Sitaram Kesri faced perhaps the most unceremonious exit from the party in 1998.
Sonia Gandhi's first hint about joining the party after Kesri's exit set the plan in motion to make the latter quit the party. His dream to see a commoner become PM was shattered when partymen invoked a special clause in the Congress constitution to remove Kesri from the party president's post and replace him with Sonia Gandhi.
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