If any Leader of the Opposition other than Rahul Gandhi were to repeatedly ‘boycott’ constitutional events such as the Independence Day speech, Republic Day parade, or the swearing-in of the Vice President, how would the Congress party react? Such behaviour would be found unacceptable. However, Rahul Gandhi enjoys a special position – he is beyond question or reproach, has the freedom to act out his eccentricities. Which he does, very often, thereby betraying a mentality rooted in a deep sense of privilege. He has a problem when this is not acknowledged, such as when he questioned why the Lok Sabha Speaker did not ‘bow’ before him as he did before the Prime Minister.
The big question is whether this attitude will help the Congress party win elections. Whatever gains it has made, thus far, have been due to electoral alliances with regional parties, a simple coming together of votes. None of it can be attributed to Rahul Gandhi’s charisma or strategic leadership. While there may possibly be a significant number of party supporters taken up with the ‘youth’ leader, it should be understood that an even larger section of its traditional voters cannot be happy with the disrespect being shown towards constitutional institutions. Behaviour that continuously hollows out Indian democracy by levelling allegations at all and sundry surely will not inspire any person who has a shred of patriotic feeling. To allege, for instance, that ‘vote chori’ took place even in the Vice-Presidential election is to completely overlook the shortcomings in the INDI Alliance and the contradictions it faces.
Much depends on the soon to be held Bihar elections. Should the Congress-RJD alliance fall short of expectations, a relook will be required at the overall strategy. It would, of course, be unrealistic to expect Congress to jettison Rahul Gandhi altogether, but the entitled approach will have to be greatly reduced. Is there not awareness of how a number of senior more capable leaders of the party are taking an independent line and refusing to wag their tails before Rahul? In contrast there are the second and third level wannabes who are hoping to make it big by encouraging, and justifying, everything that Rahul does. Even his disregard for personal safety, which has been highlighted by the CRPF, has their support. It seems what happens to him does not matter, as long as they can make their way up the ladder.
It must not be forgotten that it is the average Indian that will have to face the consequences of such politics.
