No pre-poll elevation for Rahul Gandhi

Reinforcing the speculation on Rahul Gandhi's elevation as president "soon," the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met here on Monday, unanimously recommended to the Congress chief, Sonia Gandhi, to consider their plea once again.

The Working Committee has also clarified that "it is for the first time that the Congress Working Committee including former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh unanimously made this recommendation to the President of the Party. However, it was not a resolution but only a recommendation".

When Randeep Surjewala and A K Antony made this clear to the media, it was taken with a pinch of salt as the same Committee had extended
Sonia Gandhi's term by one more year. This clearly reflects Congress' continuing dilemma on the elevation of Rahul Gandhi. The decision of the Working Committee to postpone the elections to the party for the time being only means that Rahul may not be made the president before the UP elections slated for next year along with three other States, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

The Working Committee, of course, had the mandate of the President, Sonia Gandhi, to make the recommendation to her. However, it is well-known that the Congress would not risk Rahul's image by elevating him to the post of President before the outcome of the Assembly elections to the four States. Contrary to its expectations, the image of the BJP has not been waning at all and, if any, it is going from strength to strength.

The feeble attempts of Rahul Gandhi to resurrect his leadership have not been yielding any fruits so far. The attempts of the party to project Rahul as strong Opposition leader have been taking a beating for the last two years. The performance of the party in the elections to the State Assemblies under his leadership in the past two years has not given it a chance to prove its point – that Rahul is a strong leader who could take on Narendra Modi.

In its latest attempt, the party tried to encash on Rahul's detention over the One Rank One Pension issue after an Army veteran, Ram Kishan Grewal, had committed suicide, but failed miserably. No one was ready to buy Rahul's valour on display. "Desh Badal Raha Hain Bhaiyya,” Rahul said when asked over his detention. He may be right. But what he should know is that even if there is a change, this, perhaps, is not in favour of the Congress or himself. People's expectations are changing. Even, their expectations of their leaders!

Congress badly needs a major issue and it also needs to handle the same intelligently to launch Rahul Gandhi's presidency properly. However, this does not seem to happen in the absence of a rocking issue of national proportions. Secondly, it is unable to convert the "minor issues and opportunities" that come its way into a major political fight against the BJP leadership effectively because Rahul's attitude is anything but combative.

His narrative, always written by someone else, has never sounded convincing to the audience. This could be because of the past baggage. Whatever Rahul might say today on something, one would easily recall a contradictory stand of his party. Even on OROP issue the first question that every one asked was what was his party's stand on it in the past.

Again who knows what Rahul stands for? Have we ever seen him talking intelligently or in a politically-appropriate way? People do not know what Rahul thinks of economy, politics, business, industry, agriculture, education, healthcare, welfare measures, internal security, foreign affairs, neighboring countries or distant shores.

No doubt, it is a tough job for Sonia Gandhi, to elevate him in the absence of all these. Above all, the fear of losing elections immediately under his direct leadership keeps her postpone the event. When his own mother and his party president do not trust his qualities and abilities, how will the nation? "We need to win a couple of elections at least so that we could credit the same to his kitty and project him as the President," admit sources
in the party.

The party is elated at the projections from Punjab, but still not so sure whether to make Rahul the president. A question staring in its face is whether leaders of the regional parties it want to woo would do business with it under his command. As long as the regional satraps won't perceive him as a strong leader, there would be little encouragement for them to embrace the Congress under his leadership. This is the Congress' biggest Catch-22 situation!