Opinion Reinventing Rahul

The question after the UP election results is,which one of the two will Rahul Gandhi be? He was launched on the political world with much promise. He was expected to be a super hit. His first forays into electoral politics received rave reviews; ok,may be only from Congress chamchas. But now we have to ask; Is he Joy or Shammi?

Akhilesh is obviously more a Joy Mukherjee though he may have a long innings at the top if the family can keep winning in Uttar Pradesh. It may all yet go sour. The first few days of SP rule have seen a sad replay of the Old Goonda Raj. Sukhbir Badal has managed,albeit with the senior Badal around, to get into the bloodstream of Indian politics without raising any hackles. Jagan Reddy is getting his act together slowly but surely. Dynasty helps but you have to cut your own dash.

Can Rahul do a Shammi Kapoor? Obviously,whoever chose his style and message got it badly wrong. Whether with a beard or clean shaven,Rahul did not capture hearts and minds. His appearance was of an angry young man so fashionable in the Sixties and his message was from the Seventies vintage Grandma Gandhi. Either way that is not what the political box office wants.

The real test of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership qualities will be seen when he shows that he has learnt something from the setback he has had. He needs a new persona,a rebranding. He has to get into sync with the under 35 population which has aspirations as well as apps rather than talk as if the entire country is half-clad and perpetually starving. Rajiv Gandhi caught the nation’s imagination because he reflected the young people of his times,tech savvy,managerial whiz kids who could enjoy the new found prosperity without embarrassment. Rajiv could take his family and friends to the Andamans for a holiday. He articulated the idea that within the poverty stricken India,there was enough prosperity to discern a Bel-India (Belgium sized prosperous economy within India).

Rahul seems not to convey any fun,at least not in public in India. We are told his partying is strictly abroad. He feels he has to show one face to the public when seeking votes and have a private life away from all. I am sure people would like him more if he behaved like a young man not afraid to be seen having fun. He has to get rid of the Old Congress guard; after all it was the Old Guard which ruined his father’s secular image when they gave the wrong advice on abandoning Shah Bano and Rahul’s advisers did the same with Batla House.

Dynasties are everywhere in India—in business as in Bollywood. The family is always a potential firm. Rahul belongs to one which has been in the politics business almost as long as the Tatas have been in industry. But family is not enough as Joy Mukherjee’s example shows. In a competitive world and none is more so than politics,you have to invent the self which will sell. If not,Congress will have to find its Cyrus Mistry.