ED grilling of Rahul will work in favour of Congress?
BJP’s bosses may be feeling elated for putting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi under the public scanner through the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) inquiry.
Bengaluru: BJP's bosses may be feeling elated for putting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi under the public scanner through the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) inquiry. But they have failed to see or feel the political undercurrents based on a massive sympathy wave that is developing for the Congress. "It is outright witch-hunting and this is bad politics by BJP," said Congress leaders. Going by the public glare that is being generated over the ED grilling of Rahul Gandhi and consequent sympathy wave in favour of the Congress,
BJP should regret its decision to resort to such a tactic. The social media cell of the Congress perhaps for the first time picked the right pitchto shout from the rooftops that"Rahul's grandmother Indira Gandhi died for the national cause and his father Rajiv Gandhi fell to the clandestine international ploy, now our own government is planning to finish him politically that too when his mother is laid up on the hospital bed with a serious bout of COVI". Their slogan appears to have come at the right time and in the right phrases that acts on the emotional side of the human mind-especially the average Indian family -considering India still boasts of having an enviable family stability records in the world.
The Congress veterans and the leaders like Venugopal, S Siddaramiah, DK Shivakumar, Surjewala, MallikarjunaKharge and his son Priyank Kharge have stood like rocks behind Rahul. The support he has received during the last two days during the ED grilling over the National Herald issue has created an aura of a mass movement as the media grabs show. But will it be galvanised into a poll result in 2023 in Karnataka and nationwide in 2024 general elections? Political pundits in the State do approve of such a statement.
"The Congressmen may not have fully understood the advantage that the ED exposure of Rahul Gandhi may get out of this whole episode, and how can BJP be so careless about it and offering a sympathy wave on a platter to Congress. Home Minister of Karnataka AragaJnanendra speaking at Udupi on Tuesday had given a naive statement saying "If he is proven innocent, the court will let the person free or if the person is found guilty, he will have to face the law. Why Congress leaders are getting down to the street to protest when their leader Rahul Gandhi is questioned by a law enforcement agency." Similar statements have been coming from other States.
Those who are deep into electoral pundits point out that the ED was not grilling somebody who has directly committed financial impropriety, the slightest miscalculations in the investigations can be a major embarrassment not just for the ED but also to the government -indirectly affecting the BJP. In a way BJP has put itself to a litmus test and has put the credibility of the party's government under a scanner. If Rahul is convicted, still the BJP may face a catch-22 situation, feel the analysts.
