Rahul Gandhi needs executors
Despite the jargon that the Congress is at its historic low today after Bhartiya Janta Party’s landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh, one must acknowledge that Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the strongest voice against the Modi government. The voting pattern shown by the electorate during recently held bye-polls for Assemblies is indicative of growing disillusionment from BJP and the regional parties and the beginning of a shift towards Congress. Rahul’s matured initiative to form a united opposition has received a positive response from different opposition parties. Even the warring regional groups have shown their inclination to join the anti-BJP front.
Rahul never deserved the image he was painted with. A particular image of the young potential leader was deliberately created by social media teams fully supported by BJP. For years together skillfully designed campaigns were run against Rahul on an hourly basis. Twitter handles, websites, and WhatsApp groups were financed by the political opponents to turn perception about Rahul. Joke factories, dirty tricks workshops and fake video uploading studios worked day and night to portray Rahul as someone who is not capable enough to lead a country like India.
Now when Rahul is about set to formally take over the reins of the Congress party, he needs to have a strong, dedicated, honest, and humble team with him. Pulling out Rahul from the pond of wrong perception must be the first and foremost responsibility for the Congress party. There was no dearth of well-meaning efforts by Rahul in past one decade when he did not leave any stone unturned with his hard work to give strength to his party. But all his efforts could not yield much result because the Congress could not find any mechanism to effectively counter the propaganda guns aiming towards Rahul Gandhi.
While preparing to wear the ‘crown of thrones’, Rahul cannot afford now to major in minor things in which many of his ‘colleagues’ had been pursuing him to indulge for years. He has to become a strong coach with empathy at the same time. He must learn fast to be assertive with kindness and generosity. There is a strong need to engender trust among the leaders and workers at all levels in Congress which is the essence for reviving any organisation. No organisation can afford to lose quality talent if it wants to exploit its full potential. No organisation can afford to leave its windows to the guards of doubtful integrity, especially at the time of the change in guard at the topmost level.
This is also the time to redesign the methods of inspiration to rejuvenate the Congress party which has, unknowingly or knowingly, but surely unnecessarily, lost three years after its defeat in 2014. Even if Rahul tried to do something better, it was not translated on ground because Congress workers had no faith in the middle-level leadership. It is still hard for them to understand the compulsion of this protectionism when Rahul has always been assuring at every forum to promote merit.
Rahul’s vision is bold enough and I also know that he has plenty of doubters within the Congress party. Therefore, he needs to be more decisive.
Testing your commitment to your cause cannot be an indefinite process. The Congress party has seen the worst. Rahul had to face unexpected failures, courtesy the unscrupulous enemies within. He must ensure that any repeat performance of such situations do not turn into fatal resolutions. Authenticity of a leader is one thing that must not be compromised at any time. Investing in developing and maintaining great relationships is the demand of the hour for which making fast and loud calls should not be a matter of hesitation.
To achieve a major goal in 2019, Rahul Gandhi needs a battery of committed soldiers. The rise of BJP has taught us that the most successful team does not always have to have the most talent. It should have teammates with the right combination. Delegation of responsibility and authority with accountability is what takes you to the destination. If the process of empowerment derails in a wrong direction, it hurts the very root of right actions. Standing at a crossroads the Congress has to well prepare itself for the future challenges.
At a time when BJP in Centre is about to complete its three years, there is an undercurrent that suggests an unease among the masses over the fact that unemployment is at its peak and economy is failing to pick up. Despite all heehaw for Modi-Yogi, the perception about Rahul Gandhi has changed fast and he is seen as the most potential force in the current political arena. His initiatives to form a front against BJP have taken shape as Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar, and Mamata Banerjee are playing a proactive role in this direction. Left parties, Biju Janta Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party have also supported the idea mooted by Rahul. Soon Rahul Gandhi would be making all efforts to change the narrative of future politics and the road to 2019 will no more be that easy for BJP as it looks now.
First, they ignored Rahul, then they laughed at him, and now they are fighting him. To come out of the depth of defeat, suffering, and loss, Congress has to take the path of struggle and sacrifice. All it needs is a plan, road map, courage, and the right people around with a focus on the journey.
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