Leadership test for Rahul

Subhrangshu Gupta

Sonia Gandhi In the forthcoming Assembly elections in UP( 403) and four other states( totaling 287 seats), Rahul Gandhi will get another opportunity for proving his leadership caliber in the 131 year-old party which fought for the freedom and brought the country's independence – the party which had united India and brought the people of different religions, communities, caste and creeds under one umbrella- the party which was in power in most of 70 years since 1947 but was thrown out by the BJP and other anti- Congress forces.
The tenure of the four State Assembly--UP, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Goa--will expire after March and May, 2017 and their elections may be held soon. In

Rahul Gandhi"very well" under Rahul's leadership and the party regains its lost position to some extent , Rahul Gandhi can lead the party in the subsequent other state polls in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh and Rajasthan in 2018 and finally the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
The entire nation The entire nation will watch how Rahul is delivering himself and also leading the party. But as in the past, if Rahul fails again, he will ruin himself and also the party.

The entire nation will watch how Rahul is delivering himself and also leading the party. But like in the past, if Rahul fails again, he will ruin himself and also the party.

Priyanka Gandhi Rahul's mother Sonia Gandhi had waited for long, some seven years after her husband's sudden death, to decide before joining into the party. At one stage, she even thought of leaving the country and settle down in some foreign lands which would be safe for her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka since the horrible incidents of killing of her husband at an election rally at Sriperumbudur, Tamilnadu on May 21, 1991 and the brutal assassination of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi inside the PM's residential bunglow compound in New Delhi on October 31, 1984 had been all the time hovering in her mind and frightening her about the safety and security of her son and daughter.

Modi's fight against black money hoarders has been a sham show since it is known to all that only by demonetizing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes the black money problems will not be solved. After taking over as prime minister, Modi wanted 100 days time from the people for bringing back cores of black money from abroad which he failed.

But finally, after the party's major debacle in the polls in 1996, following the advice and prolonged persuasion of the family friends, well-wishers and party leadership , she at last agreed to join the party and take active part in revitalising the party. She was soon made the party president. She also fought the Lok Sabha poll in 1999 from Amethi in UP( her husband's vacant seat) and Bellary in Karnataka and in both the seats she won with a vast margin of votes .

But Rahul entered the party rather automatically by virtue of being Rajiv Gandhi's son and Indira Gandhi's grandson. He was to assist his mother in the party work at the initial stage. But when he became a Lok Sabha member after winning the poll from the Amethi constituency ( when Sonia had shifted her constituency to Rae- Bareilly ) in May, 2004 with a vast margin of votes( precisely , 3, 70,000) he was made the party's general secretary and afterwards the vice-president on January 19, 2013.

And the mother and the son duo--the scions of the Nehru-Gandhi family--is now at the helm of power in the Congress, at whose hands the future of the party has been lying - the Party which is comparable to Britain's Labour party and the US's Democratic Party.

But the people still remember that after the Congress's massive debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha, a large section in the party men and also many old and ardent followers came out in the open strongly criticizing the leadership of the mother and the son. They demanded change in the leadership. Some were also writing the party's obituary.

The US newspaper Los Angeles Times at that time also questioned the credibility of the leadership of Sonia and Rahul and it suggested the urgent need of ending the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty rule in the party. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the party got only 44 seats of the total 543 against 206 in 2009 .

At that time, Sonia and Rahul wanted to resign owning their responsibilities for the debacle but they were persuaded not to do so. Instead, they jumped into the party works with more energy, sincerity, and devotion.

Rahul has his own brigade which included about dozen talented young party men like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Jitendra Singh, Deependra Hooda, Meenakhi Nataranajn, Sandip Dikshit, Ajay Maken, Manish Tewari, Milind Deora and Shashi Tharoor. And Sonia also has her own council of advisers who had been close to Rajiv and the family friends of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Officially, Rahul is the party vicepresident but he is also the de facto president. It is now a matter of routine affair that Rahul is elevated to the post of the party president in place of his mother, who has been already turned into a symbolic Sister Superior in the Congress.

Rahul now at 47, has been the party torch-bearer . But his father Rajiv was in the prime minister's chair at the age of 40 only. Rahul has before him a tremendous challenging job for revitalizing the party, which has been now in the shambles. The political condition in the country is not totally unfavorable to the Congress for it's revival. The BJP government under Narendra Modi's leadership has been gradually losing it's popularity and the Modi magic which acted as miracle in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll for the BJP also has gradually been dying down.
Modi's fight against black money hoarders has been a sham show since it is known to all that only by de-monetizing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes will not solve the black money

The ground has become much fertile for the Congress to stand up strong and mobilize the countrymen in their favour. It will be Rahul Gandhi's job to utilize the opportunity and restore the Congress once again to it's old historic position.

problems . After taking over as prime minister, Modi wanted 100 days time from the people for bringing back cores of black money from abroad which he failed.

And now after the present demonetizing "gimmick" , he wanted another 50 days for enabling him in unearthing all the hoarded black money and bringing the black money hoarders to book. The people have strong resentment against Modi .

The ground has thus become much fertile for the Congress to stand up and mobilize the countrymen in its favour . And it will be Rahul Gandhi's job to utilize the opportunity and restore the Congress once again to its old historic position.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY DEMONETISATION DEMONETISATION DEMONETISATION DEMONETISATION DEMONETISATION ALARMING SIGNALS REALPOLITIK CONGRESS PROSPECTS STATE OF BUREAUCRACY LEARNING FROM HISTORY HITS & MISSES KASHMIR WATCH HOCKEY'S RENAISSANCE HOCKEY'S RENAISSANCE FRANKLY SPEAKING AMERICAN DIARY TRUMP VICTORY SINO-INDIAN TIES INDO-JAPANESE TIES PAKISTAN TODAY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES YOGA IN DAILY LIFE-VIII A SUCCESS STORY CHANGE FOR THE BETTER ART OF LIVING Issue:December' 2016 Subscribe Now	CONGRESS PROSPECTS Leadership test for Rahul Subhrangshu Gupta Sonia Gandhi In the forthcoming Assembly elections in UP( 403) and four other states( totaling 287 seats), Rahul Gandhi will get another opportunity for proving his leadership caliber in the 131 year-old party which fought for the freedom and brought the country's independence – the party which had united India and brought the people of different religions, communities, caste and creeds under one umbrella- the party which was in power in most of 70 years since 1947 but was thrown out by the BJP and other anti- Congress forces. The tenure of the four State Assembly--UP, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Goa--will expire after March and May, 2017 and their elections may be held soon. In Rahul Gandhi"very well" under Rahul's leadership and the party regains its lost position to some extent , Rahul Gandhi can lead the party in the subsequent other state polls in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh and Rajasthan in 2018 and finally the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The entire nation The entire nation will watch how Rahul is delivering himself and also leading the party. But as in the past, if Rahul fails again, he will ruin himself and also the party. The entire nation will watch how Rahul is delivering himself and also leading the party. But like in the past, if Rahul fails again, he will ruin himself and also the party. Priyanka Gandhi Rahul's mother Sonia Gandhi had waited for long, some seven years after her husband's sudden death, to decide before joining into the party. At one stage, she even thought of leaving the country and settle down in some foreign lands which would be safe for her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka since the horrible incidents of killing of her husband at an election rally at Sriperumbudur, Tamilnadu on May 21, 1991 and the brutal assassination of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi inside the PM's residential bunglow compound in New Delhi on October 31, 1984 had been all the time hovering in her mind and frightening her about the safety and security of her son and daughter. Modi's fight against black money hoarders has been a sham show since it is known to all that only by demonetizing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes the black money problems will not be solved. After taking over as prime minister, Modi wanted 100 days time from the people for bringing back cores of black money from abroad which he failed. But finally, after the party's major debacle in the polls in 1996, following the advice and prolonged persuasion of the family friends, well-wishers and party leadership , she at last agreed to join the party and take active part in revitalising the party. She was soon made the party president. She also fought the Lok Sabha poll in 1999 from Amethi in UP( her husband's vacant seat) and Bellary in Karnataka and in both the seats she won with a vast margin of votes . But Rahul entered the party rather automatically by virtue of being Rajiv Gandhi's son and Indira Gandhi's grandson. He was to assist his mother in the party work at the initial stage. But when he became a Lok Sabha member after winning the poll from the Amethi constituency ( when Sonia had shifted her constituency to Rae- Bareilly ) in May, 2004 with a vast margin of votes( precisely , 3, 70,000) he was made the party's general secretary and afterwards the vice-president on January 19, 2013. And the mother and the son duo--the scions of the Nehru-Gandhi family--is now at the helm of power in the Congress, at whose hands the future of the party has been lying - the Party which is comparable to Britain's Labour party and the US's Democratic Party. But the people still remember that after the Congress's massive debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha, a large section in the party men and also many old and ardent followers came out in the open strongly criticizing the leadership of the mother and the son. They demanded change in the leadership. Some were also writing the party's obituary. The US newspaper Los Angeles Times at that time also questioned the credibility of the leadership of Sonia and Rahul and it suggested the urgent need of ending the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty rule in the party. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the party got only 44 seats of the total 543 against 206 in 2009 . At that time, Sonia and Rahul wanted to resign owning their responsibilities for the debacle but they were persuaded not to do so. Instead, they jumped into the party works with more energy, sincerity, and devotion. Rahul has his own brigade which included about dozen talented young party men like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Jitendra Singh, Deependra Hooda, Meenakhi Nataranajn, Sandip Dikshit, Ajay Maken, Manish Tewari, Milind Deora and Shashi Tharoor. And Sonia also has her own council of advisers who had been close to Rajiv and the family friends of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Officially, Rahul is the party vicepresident but he is also the de facto president. It is now a matter of routine affair that Rahul is elevated to the post of the party president in place of his mother, who has been already turned into a symbolic Sister Superior in the Congress. Rahul now at 47, has been the party torch-bearer . But his father Rajiv was in the prime minister's chair at the age of 40 only. Rahul has before him a tremendous challenging job for revitalizing the party, which has been now in the shambles. The political condition in the country is not totally unfavorable to the Congress for it's revival. The BJP government under Narendra Modi's leadership has been gradually losing it's popularity and the Modi magic which acted as miracle in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll for the BJP also has gradually been dying down. Modi's fight against black money hoarders has been a sham show since it is known to all that only by de-monetizing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes will not solve the black money The ground has become much fertile for the Congress to stand up strong and mobilize the countrymen in their favour. It will be Rahul Gandhi's job to utilize the opportunity and restore the Congress once again to it's old historic position. problems . After taking over as prime minister, Modi wanted 100 days time from the people for bringing back cores of black money from abroad which he failed. And now after the present demonetizing "gimmick" , he wanted another 50 days for enabling him in unearthing all the hoarded black money and bringing the black money hoarders to book. The people have strong resentment against Modi . The ground has thus become much fertile for the Congress to stand up and mobilize the countrymen in its favour . And it will be Rahul Gandhi's job to utilize the opportunity and restore the Congress once again to its old historic position.