New bid to burnish Rahul image

The Congress social media wing went on a high-octane online campaign on Wednesday. Leaders of frontal organisation of the Congress, like the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Indian Youth Congress took to Twitter with the hash tag #RGEmpoweringyouth. The idea was to showcase that youth with no political family backgrounds have risen in the ranks of the Congress.

All MLAs of the Congress, who have had backgrounds of IYC and NSUI, were showcased in the online campaign. IYC president and MLA from Punjab, Amarinder Raja Brar, tweeted “I started my career as a block president of the Youth

Congress and Rahul ji’s vision for youth has brought me here.” Several other leaders have similarly tweeted with similar hash tags.

The move is to build an image of the Congress that youth still has a future in the grand old party. After the debacle in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly elections, the morale in the Congress cadres is at its lowest. Such a move is seen as a confidencebuilding measure for young leaders of the grand old party.

Also, with impending changes in the Congress structure, the tussle between the old guard and the young Turks is also playing itself out. Several Congress leaders, who have held several positions, have spoken about drastic changes. Some have even suggested that accountability of the top leadership of the Congress should also be fixed. With this campaign, a subtle message is also being sent out that the grand old party firmly stands behind its vicepresident Rahul Gandhi.