Rahul steps closer to Gandhi throne

Rae Bareli: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was credited for his mother, party President Sonia Gandhi’s record breaking win in the by-polls. Sonia Gandhi also broke new ground by speaking in public for the first time about her son's future. Has his mother's win pushed him a step closer to the Gandhi throne?

He's crossed his first hurdle and finished the job given by Sonia with great success. A four lakh plus margin for the Congress President in Rae Bareli and voices within the party once again want the son to take a more proactive role.

The victory has brought him to centrestage with the mother but the question that arises is that is he ready? Has Rahul Gandhi the politician finally come of age? And as always there are no easy answers.

“You ask me this question all the time and my answer remains the same,” Rahul said.

The irony is as is with everything that relates to the Gandhi family that the script of this political drama has perhaps been already written. That’s perhaps the reason why a few crucial months before the Uttar Pradesh elections a remark by the Congress MP from Amethi clearly reflects a sign of preparedness.

“I am ready to take whatever responsibility the Congress gives me,” Rahul said.

But, Rae Bareli is no Uttar Pradesh and the numbers only reflect that. The Congress has barely touched double digits in the state and its Lok Sabha tally from Uttar Pradesh is at nine.

In the state Assembly it has 25 seats, which is a steady slide from 1989 when it had 94 seats. In fact in its pocket borough of Rae Bareli not one of the five Assembly segments is with the Congress.

The organisational structure of the party is in tatters and a badly divided, demoralised party needs the Gandhi charisma and much more to give it the required push.

That’s perhaps the reason why calls to induct Rahul as General Secretary of the party are only growing louder. There are some who admit that the Rae Bareli assignment was a litmus test for the young MP but sister Priyanka believes its just a stepping stone.

“He has a long career ahead. This was just a small test and not a big deal,” Priyanka said.

So, would the Congress go ahead and give Rahul a significant role in Uttar Pradesh? Well chances are in a volatile and crucial state like this one, that would be a little too brave.

But, if the Gandhi heir is thinking of playing a big role, the Congress’ first challenge would be to expand the horizons and take him out of just Rae Bareli and Amethi.