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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

What went wrong for Rahul Gandhi in UP

What went wrong for Rahul Gandhi in UP

Rahul Gandhi faced the media on the lawn of 10 Janpath on the afternoon of 6 March. He waited for correspondents, photographers and cameramen to settle down, with a look of mild amusement on his face, then said: "Ready?" They were. He then admitted responsibility for the Congress' poor showing in Uttar Pradesh, said that it was a "great lesson" for him, and vowed to be always around for the farmers and the poor in the state. His tone was friendly, the smile confident. As he walked away, to go back into his mother's home, he put his arm round the waiting Priyanka.

Till late into the night, Congress leaders fell over themselves trying to absolve Rahul of all responsibility. It was all part of the elaborate Congress political theatre that we are all quite familiar with. Both the actors and the audience know the script by heart now, but it can't be changed. 

Well, now that another act of the play is over, the Gandhi family surely has a lot to ponder over. They should, perhaps, pay particular attention to three questions:
1. If the Congress' ground-level party organization in UP was so weak

(as all Congressmen are claiming), shouldn't this be seen as a failure of the massive national campaign Rahul Gandhi launched a few years ago to recruit young people to his political cause? After all, the party had tom-tommed very impressive numbers about the Indian youth signing up as primary members.

2. Why did the Congress lose eight of the 10 assembly seats in the Gandhi family's pocket boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli? Priyanka Gandhi addressed over 200 public meetings in these two parliamentary constituencies.

3. Between 2009 and 2011, Rahul Gandhi had meals, spent the night, and in one case, even had a bath using a hand pump, in the homes of five villagers in UP. Why couldn't the Congress win even one of these five assembly seats? The party lost even in Bhatta Parsaul where Rahul created a hue and cry about farm land acquisition and police atrocities.

Very few would deny Rahul Gandhi's sincerity, or the fact that he means well. But clearly there is a disconnect somewhere between him and the electorate. In December last year, I had wondered (Is the 'Rahul effect' wearing off?) whether he was doing the right thing by completely dissociating himself from the UPA government in Delhi, especially when he was going ballistic over the misgovernance of the Mayawati-led UP sarkar. How long could he continue to only weave dreams for the poor in his speeches when his own party was in power at the national level?

I think it's very interesting that in all the media reports and discussions on these state election results, no one—to my knowledge—mentioned one name: that of our Prime Minister. This just confirms the total irrelevance—at the very least, the absence of any positive relevance—of our PM and the government he titularly leads, in the eyes of both voters and commentators.

The wall that the Gandhis have tried to build between the government and the party (which is of course just another name for The Family) is actually the traditional Communist model. In India, it worked very well for the CPI(M) in West Bengal for many years, but was also finally responsible for its losing power. I am very certain that millions of UP voters like Rahul much more than any other politician, but they are also smart enough to recognize the above-all-accountability political status he has crafted for himself.

How long can he presume that he can dip his hand in any river and never get wet? I think a lot of UP voters thought of him as a good soul who would be of no help in their daily lives and struggles. And people across the country may want something more than expressions of good intentions from a man who will always be remote from them. At least at the state election level.

Things could well be different when the average citizen votes in a Lok Sabha election. But the dysfunctional UPA government is hardly helping the voter think that way. And for this, ultimately, Rahul and his mother will have to take responsibility, whether they want to or not.

They can't keep hiding behind their Teflon silences. 

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