DYNAST WHO WANTS TO BE A DEMOCRAT
He has never held public office, once likened power to “poison”, and saw his politician father and grandmother assassinated. Now, Rahul Gandhi has taken over as leader of the party that has ruled the country for much of its history. The son, grandson and greatgrandson of prime ministers, Rahul has carried the burden of expectation since his father Rajiv was assassinated in 1991.
His reputation as a reluctant leader and his lacklustre performance in the 2014 general election campaign, which he fronted, had cast doubt over his suitability for the role.
But analysts say the Gandhi family’s tight grip on the party leadership — dating back to first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru — made his ascension almost inevitable.
His mother Sonia has led the party for 19 years and has worked tirelessly to ensure her son’s eventual succession. But Rahul, who bats for ideas like organisational polls, faces an immense battle to revive the ailing party
ahead of the next national polls due in 2019.
An editorial last month called Rahul an “amiable and pleasant fellow who lacks the will to win power or the killer instinct necessary for the cut and thrust of political battle in India”.
Just 58 per cent of Indians view him positively, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center earlier
this year that put Prime Minister Narendra Modi 30 points ahead of him in the popularity stakes.
“He will be always seen as a dynast. But much will depend on how he delivers results for the party,” said Gurpreet Mahajan, political studies professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
“His only shield to criticism will be performance.”
THE 47- YEAR- OLD’S NOMINATION AS PRESI- DENT OF THE CONGRESS PARTY FOLLOWS YEARS OF SPECULATION THAT HE WOULD SUCCEED HIS MOTHER IN THE ROLE HE HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR SINCE BIRTH.