The dynasty's juggernaut rolls on unopposed in the Congress. The Crown Prince of the Nehru-Gandhi fiefdom, Rahul Gandhi, is all set to take over reigns of the grand old party as a sixth member of the family. It was nearly a 100 years ago – 98 to be precise – that Motilal Nehru took over as the President of the Congress Party at Amritsar.
In 1929, when it was time for Motilal Nehru to lay down office, he did not call for election. Instead, he passed on the mantle to his son, Jawaharlal. The followers of the two and their families rejoiced and thus was born the powerful clan of Nehru-Gandhi, as it is now known. Of course, Mahatma Gandhi's blessings were there for this dynastic rule then.
It is a proprietary right of the members of the clan to succeed. That is why Rahul Gandhi perhaps expounded his philosophy on the inevitability of his succession in the recent times arguing that just as Ambanis' succeed to the throne he too should be. However, he also added, for a good measure then, ‘the real question is whether the person is a capable and a sensitive person'.
Is Rahul really a capable and sensitive person to lead his family enterprise? Moreover, India is not a private property or a business entity as Rahul presumes it to be while comparing his elevation to that of junior Ambani. And it is not going to be simple for Rahul Gandhi. The younger generation has become more aspirational while also being short on patience.
Internally, too, the jostling for space around him would be intense. There are too many hawks and sharks in the party who have retained their power. Transforming the party into a youthful joint is not going to be easy. Everyone in the party just heaved a sigh of relief seeing Rahul file his nomination as that part was the biggest challenge for Sonia Gandhi all these years.
It is simply because Rahul Gandhi just hems and haws and comes out on both sides of every question. This would be his major constraint in uniting the Opposition. Rahul's refusal to own up mistakes could be an unwelcoming feature within the party. He has been nurtured with great care and in a highly sanitized atmosphere where no criticism could touch him and no regret could ever embrace him. This limits his exposure to the realities of politics and life. Anyway, best wishes to him, as India needs a credible opposition.
