Indian politics can be fun. Ask Rahul Gandhi

The Congress president may have a cool plan up his sleeve for the elections, Modi had better watch out

Rahul may lack Modi’s experience but he’s not boring. He once hugged the PM in parliament, winked, even dozed off, now he’s tweeting in style.

Early this month, when it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, I was preparing to write off Rahul Gandhi, the Congress president whose party is expected to lead the charge against the Narendra Modi-led government in Indian elections next year. ‘‘The Congress needs a fresh face, like Priyanka, or even Shashi Tharoor, and new ideas for development if it wants to topple Modi,” I proclaimed.

But the writing didn’t happen and state elections in India have forced me to defer my verdict on the man who many (liberal) political experts have tipped to take on the Indian PM in a clash of personalities next year.

I love politics but write less on issues closer home for fear of the trolls. When I do, I find myself struggling to find the larger picture. The feeling is akin to treading on eggshells. I am expected to side with the majority opinion, the liberal (and often hysterical) view which I refuse to endorse. A contrarian view is often an invitation for some egg on the face these days.

However, I can say with pride that ideology does not bind me to any political outfit. “You must question your leaders in a democracy; they are human and fallible; don’t believe all that they are saying,’’ I was told. Growing up, I took that advice seriously and I am in a happy place these days where I value my freedom to target the Left, the Right, the Far-right and the Centrists.

That’s why I vote Left and swing Right on issues while standing my (middle) ground against what I often call the Congress’s history of pseudosecularism. I also think it’s my political duty to be unsparing of Communist symbolism. Rabid saffronism of the Right, I despise, while I view the Bharatiya Janata Party’s foreign and security policies favourably.

So before I decide on whether Rahul the dynast, as the BJP likes to remind people, is ready for the role as the united opposition candidate for the PM’s post, I have some questions for the Congress’s great hope.

First, can Rahul unite those opposed to Modi when he cannot have his way in his own party? Take the appointments of chief ministers for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. After two days of deliberations, he chose the boring, jaded old guard of Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot when he had better alternatives in Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia. They were his chums and yet he let them down.

The Congress chief plumped for experience over youthful zeal — a mistake that could put his party at a disadvantage

when it battles the organisational might of the BJP that is backed at the grassroots by its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

He should have channelled concerns of the youth — on education and jobs — against the hate of the saffron brigade by giving Young Turks in the Congress a shot at leadership. And by succumbing to pressure and failing to stand up to the veterans, the Congress president opened a window for dissent in the ranks. Second,

will regional satraps support Rahul for the PM’s post when they themselves nurture own prime ministerial ambitions? Sharad Pawar, Mamta Banerjee, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav are names that could torment him if he doesn’t play his cards right for a consensus in his favour.

The good news for the Congress, though, is that regional parties from the South like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Telugu Desam are backing him for the top job.

DMK leader M.K. Stalin voiced his support, but Rahul needs to get other regional parties to come on board the Congress-led train.

The Gandhi scion was once despised as a slacker, who appeared to find the job a burden. But I now see him in new light after tracking his tweets and think he has a surprise for PM Modi.

One-way communication has been Modi’s forte; he’s a smart orator, quick on the ball and can speak extempore while Rahul has been hesitant vocalising his game plan despite being actively involved in politics for more than a decade.

The Congress leader may have seen his stock rise nationally after the recent poll wins. Though not in the Modi mold when he speaks to a crowd, his voice sounds squeaky clean, something the masses can relate to as a friend and brother. Some of his lines are witty, too. Modi, on the other hand, is authoritative but repetitive during the mass contact sport called politics. This is where Rahul should seize the initiative. He may lack Modi’s experience but he’s not boring for sure. He once hugged the PM in parliament, winked, even dozed off; now he’s tweeting in style.

Here’s one of his tweets that should rankle the PM: “Btw it’s been 1,654 days since u became PM. Still no press conference? Some pics from our Hyderabad PC today. Try one someday, it’s fun having questions thrown at you!”

That happy streak was evident early on in his career when his party won a stunning victory over the might of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s BJP in 2006. I saw him jump over the barricades and reach out to elated party workers. “He’s a good kid, he’s not like them... those politicians,” said a senior colleague.

The other image was of him hugging his dad Rajiv at grandmom Indira Gandhi’s funeral in 1984. Rahul’s strength lies in his vulnerability (which is different from being weak) and there is no shame in embracing it.

He seems less constrained by his image and has a refreshing appeal unlike PM Modi who appears vain, pretends to be invincible, and detests speaking to the media.

If a presidential-style contest with Modi were to happen, that vulnerability would serve Rahul well. Who knows, people might plump for the shy-man and dump the BJP’s strongman.

Rahul’s accessible and ‘fun’ — a rare combination in the murky world of politics. That’s why I refuse to write him off till the last ballot is counted next year. —