Opinion A Rahul reality check
The election in Uttar Pradesh is without question the most important test Rahul Gandhi has faced in his short and relatively easy political career.
The election in Uttar Pradesh is without question the most important test Rahul Gandhi has faced in his short and relatively easy political career. If he succeeds even in just doubling the Congress Partys 22 seats in the Vidhan Sabha,it will be seen by his supporters as proof that he is ready to lead India. If he fails to achieve this modest goal,then the doubts about his future,that surfaced after he took his party from thirteen seats in the Bihar assembly to four,will be reinforced.
Rahulji appears to be aware that he has much to win and even more to lose so he has led the campaign from the front like an aggressive and valiant commander in chief. He started focusing on UP long before anyone else did and spent most of last year wandering about the state making belligerent speeches about the state governments failings. He went on hunger strike to draw attention to police atrocities in the villages of Bhatta and Parsaul. He undertook a long padyatra through squelchy fields and squalid villages to understand land acquisition problems. He spent nights in Dalit homes and shared their frugal meals. And,everywhere he went,he talked about how much money we have sent you from the Centre and how it had been misused by the state government. This was a mistake because it made people wonder whether he knew that this was not his own money but that of the people of India.
It is not the only mistake he made. Now that the election looms ever closer,it is perhaps time for him to take a short break and ponder over the sort of campaign he has been leading. If he does,he might discover that his political advisors and speechwriters appear not to have his best interests at heart. Either that or they belong to an older time when the only way to win elections in our largest and most populous state was to play on issues of caste,creed and grievance.
So last week in Azamgarh,when Muslim students burnt effigies of Rahul,it frightened his team enough for them to start telling lies about the shootout in Batla House two years ago. The Indian police do not stage fake encounters in order to kill their officers. A senior police officer was shot at and killed in Batla House before the police retaliated. But,Rahuls loyal lieutenant,Digvijay Singh,continues to make irresponsible statements to create a sense of grievance among Muslims. The hope is that this will consolidate that once reliable vote bank.
It is an old fashioned idea. Muslim voters today want what other Indian voters want from their political leaders. They want the tools that will enable them to improve their lives. Such basic things as water,electricity,roads,schools,hospitals and jobs. It is because successive governments in UP have failed to deliver real change that they are forced to resort at election time to the divisive,dangerous,ugly politics of caste and communal grievance.
As heir to Indias most powerful political dynasty,it should be beneath Rahul Gandhis dignity to stoop to this kind of disruptive politics. As a relatively young political leader,it is expected from him that he would raise real issues. Like whether schools and healthcare improved during Mayawatis rule. Like whether she spent as much time and resources building roads and power plants as she did building statues of herself. Like whether as a Dalit woman chief minister,she did anything to improve the abysmal lot of women and Dalits in the state.
Opinion polls regularly reveal that the average Indian thinks Rahul Gandhi is our best choice for future prime minister. It is also true that he can take the job whether he loses badly in UP or not. So it is even more important that we hear our future prime ministers views on real issues. What economic direction does he think India should take? Should we continue to reform or should we go back to his grandmothers socialist ways? What are his ideas on governance? Does he think India has been held back by bad governance or is he happy with the way things are? With so many serious political and economic issues to talk about,what is wrong with Rahuls advisors that they drag his campaign down into the mire of caste,quotas and communalism. Surely,these are issues that are best left to politicians of regional genre?
From the man who would be prime minister,we have the right to demand much,much more. So may I humbly suggest,dear Rahulji,that you take a short break from campaigning and consider a change of direction for your campaign. Incidentally,the reports I have received from Uttar Pradesh on Congress prospects are not good.
Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ Tavleen_Singh
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