Rahul Gandhi : A classic case of forced leadership

Rahul Gandhi , congress president and heir to the nehru gandhi dynasty is perceived by all to be a PM of india someday . He carries a huge legacy of being the first family of India and thus a lot of expectation as well . Being a natural and only choice for all congressman is a tough act to follow . It come with a lot of privileges , where a lot of people can do anything to be in but there are certain expectation as well . Having said that ,Rahul's actions has also come under a lot of scanner as well . Politics is all about perception and therefore the leader spent a lot of their efforts in creating a right perception in the eyes of public . 

There is now general perception about Rahul Gandhi that he is a non serious reluctant leader. This perception gets more credence when the opposition magnifies his speech goof ups , foreign jaunts and other issues . The amount of jokes getting circulated on social media on Raga is only second to Trump ,If that is any solace to the spin doctors of congress . 

The latest foreign visit of Rahul Gandhi came in the backdrop of elections in three northeastern states. While there was very little campaigning the RAGA did in these states But suddenly, he just got up and left before the election results and announced it on social media and tried to score brownie point by touting as a visit to meet his 94 YO ailing grand mom . Giving more ammunition to opposition and another point for his battered supporters to defend .

I feel that, any politician travelling abroad on a private visit is perfectly fine .What surprised me is that any serious politician would consider various factors before planning a foreign visit and will stand by his party men specially when the chips are down moreover he cannot be in denial of his family’s Italian baggage.

Politics is a 24×7 profession and election is a very important aspect of it .one has to run the whole course of the election, from contesting and campaigning to waiting for the results. Moreover I feel that politician has two very important traits and that is perception and reality . The mass leader has to be the symbol of Hope to his cadre and which in turn will propagate that message down to masses . Somehow rahul has not been able to instil that feeling in his support and Party workers . The perception among general masses , is that rahul Gandhi is not reliable . This image which has been build very fast using social and traditional media in the eyes of electorate will be very difficult for any PR agency to change and more so when he keeps on doing these foreign jaunts , burr bury jackets , and worst is accessibility. These days an out of power political leader cannot survive if he is not in dialogue with his supporters and masses . He has to be perceived as one among them . Gandhi’s post Rajiv murder have some how carefully created a Glass capsule around them and it’s difficult for even senior congressmen to meet them .these perception get credence when one gets media reports of various leaders like Himanta Biswas episode and other congressmen making these type of “off the record comments “ . 

Rahul’s conduct post election debacles has been very unenthusiastic . He has hardly visited any of those state Post an unfavourable electoral outcome .The message you are sending is that you have abandoned them when they need you the most. Consequently, a feeling creeps in the worker and electorate that the leader is callous, uncaring and indifferent to them . 

Rahul Gandhi should cultivate an image as a reliable , trust worthy and a leader who will standby his people in thick and thin Instead, the perception is totally opposite and with each passing day and Election that perception gets cemented .He should be seen as a leader in control rather time and again he is seen as somebody who is not even in control of his own stock , be it handling of Goa or Meghalaya. 

Rahul has been trying a lot of half hearted experiments unsuccessfully such as tie up with SP in UP , visit to mandirs in gujarat , portray an aggressive image using theatrics by either folding the sleeves or tearing papers . Even his oratory skills and convincing power needs a lot of polishing . All these issues get even more highlighted because you are competing against NAMO who is one of the best in this business in the world .

some how all these action cements an image of political immaturity, irresponsibility, and refusal to be accountable. He has since shown no regret or course correction which tells us Rahul will keep getting his basic wrong . Pity the Congress.

If Rahul Gandhi wants to change Congress, he can start by atleast not abandoning the post and stand by his men . 

His public conduct is partly responsible for the image which has etched in people mind and which has been used by BJP to the maximum advantage .That is a part of politics.For e.g. Some of his trips have been completely mistimed, almost leading to him being labelled an escapist. That is something Congress strategists should think about. Leaders are only taken seriously when they are there to lead during bad times or atleast perceived . Don’t know what the spin doctors at congress are upto and what are they waiting for . Infact I feel that a certain section of press is doing a job which the congress, the main opposition party of the country,should have been doing inspite of all the bashing from BJP supporters. 

Rahul Gandhi has to take responsibility as the captain of the team. It should not fall on the local leadership to take the blame. This kind of approach, where the local leadership takes the failures and the central leadership takes the credit, is why the Congress is at the pathetic level .

As a team leader, if he had taken responsibility, people would take him more seriously. SomeHow it strengthens my theory that it’s not just Rahul Gandhi’s fault, it is the inherent Congress culture. The credit for the good things always went to Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and the bad results were attributed to the local leadership. As for Rahul Gandhi, if you’re winning in Punjab because of Amrinder Singh and you try to take the credit, no one is going to give it to you.basically treating the Gandhi’s as sacrosanct. A lot of water has flown down the Ganges since those days where one can rule by cultivating that image but not now . 

If Rahul Gandhi, as he claims, wants to change the Congress and reinvent it, he has to start with himself. He has to not only get his basic right but toil hard to stand against the powerful, shrewd and very hardworking machinery of BJP . I strongly feel that the dip stick that he is actually making the right moves is when he picks the right team but till date nothing to that effect is seen since his coronation.