Opinion Waiting for Rahul to show his hand

All eyes are on Rahul Gandhi who is said to be playing a key role in the exercise

October 26, 2012 01:35 AM IST First published on: Oct 26, 2012 at 01:35 AM IST

Amid growing suspense and speculation over the Cabinet reshuffle expected shortly,all eyes are on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who is said to be playing a key role in the exercise. Whatever interventions he makes,it will send out a clear message to the party rank and file about his intent as he prepares to assume a bigger organisational responsibility.

While inducting young faces would be in sync with Rahuls stated objective of giving a bigger role to the youth,the question is whether it will usher more efficiency in governance or yield electoral dividends for the Congress. For instance,Pradeep Kumar Jains induction in the union council of ministers had little effect on the partys fortunes in Bundelkhand in the last Assembly elections.

Will Rahul break away from the partys fixation with the politics of identity and symbolism? Since his induction as AICC general secretary in 2007,identity politics has marked Rahuls political odyssey. He was a saviour of tribals of Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa,of Dalits of Mirchpur village in Haryana,of Muslims of Gopalgarh in Rajasthan,of farmers in Bhatta Parsaul and of migrants in Mumbai. But these cameos lacked consistency,as he seldom went back to these areas to resolve the core issues.

His choice of nominees for the union council of ministers is expected to reflect his priorities his agenda for the UPA government for its remaining term. Will he opt for activists Meenakshi Natarajan to rein in the media and Jyoti Mirdha for environment or will he hand over the reins of crucial ministries to doers who can carry forward the recently gained momentum in governance,regardless of their age?

Given the limited options in the grand old party and the current political atmosphere in which dropping or changing a ministers portfolio may be projected as the Oppositions victory,Rahul may not have much leeway to go in for a drastic overhaul. But his imprint on the revamped Cabinet will be an indicator of his vision for the country and the party.

Deepak is a senior assistant editor based in New Delhi

dk.singh@expressindia.com