The Congress wants Rahul Gandhi to be the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. It is a good idea because he led the party’s election campaign from up front. This involved making many claims about what constitutes good governance, the nature of leadership, the failings of the Hindutva model, economics as it should be, etc. He had even challenged Prime Minister Modi to a one-on-one debate. As Leader of the Opposition, he will get many opportunities to do so. A five-time Lok Sabha MP, he has as yet not had a distinguished performance, having a poor record regarding attendance, questions asked, bills presented, participation in debates, etc. This is largely because he has treated the position as a part-time occupation and achieved some notoriety, instead, for his vacationing abroad.
It may be said that this attitude was a manner of preparation for the leadership role he has now acquired. As LoP, he will not just have to attend all the necessary debates and discussions, he will have extensive administrative responsibilities, including those related to important committees of which he will be a member. This will require serious application of mind and burning the midnight oil. Does he have the aptitude for that, or will he delegate this task to his tutors and mentors? That would be a dicey approach, as it could lead to the kind of trouble Mahua Moitra got into, only on a much larger scale.
It is no wonder that he is putting thought into taking on the role, but if he is to get ahead, it is a must. At the time when the Congress was in power and all was being done by others for his benefit, it was possible to adopt a shoot and scoot approach to politics. That is no longer an option for the reasons mentioned above. If he manages to put in, if not a good performance, even a consistent one, he would be ready to lay claim to the desired higher role.
If, however, he ducks this responsibility as well, whoever gets the job of LoP need only consider the fate of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who led the party in the LS under difficult circumstances (without the LoP tag as the numbers were short) during the previous term. He has been sacrificed at the altar of convenience in West Bengal and has nowhere to go. One who gets the benefit should therefore be the one who works for it.