New Delhi: The scion of Nehru-Gandhi family and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was finally crowned as the 87th president of the Indian National Congress (INC) on Monday, an outcome which did not come as a surprise due to his unopposed candidature for the top post in a party election that was reduced to a formality.
Mr Gandhi, 47, will officially take charge of the party by replacing his mother Mrs Sonia Gandhi on December 16, two days before the announcement of election results for Himachal and Gujarat Assembly polls. As expected, Mr Gandhi was elected unchallenged.
Storm in teacup as Congress’ election questioned
There was a minor storm in the teacup when Shehzad Poonawalla, Maharashtra Congress state unit secretary, questioned called the organisational elections a sham. On Monday, Mr Poonawalla tweeted that Mr Gandhi’s election marked a black day for the party.
The announcement on Mr Gandhi’s election was made by the Congress’ central election authority chairman Mullapally Ramachandran. He said Mr Gandhi will formally take over the reins of the party on December 16.
While the party and its leaders fell over each other on Monday to congratulate the president-elect, all eyes are on the outcome of the Gujarat polls, being dubbed as a fight between Mr Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Till now Mr Gandhi’s record in electoral politics remains an embarrassment for the party. His electoral credibility continues to remain suspect even among a section of party leaders.
If Mr Gandhi manages to trounce Mr Modi in his home turf, he will emerge nothing less than a superhero.
But if mauled and trounced in Gujarat, his leadership will again come under scanner and be questioned.
Mr Gandhi not merely tore BJP to shreds in the social media warfare (which had so far been dominated by the saffronites) but he was also described as a “rockstar” due to the mega response evoked by his rallies in Gujarat.
That the BJP, its president Amit Shah and the Prime Minister have begun to take him “seriously” became evident when they relentlessly went on targeting him and kept referring to him in their speeches. On Monday, Mr Modi “congratulated” Mr Gandhi on taking over as Congress chief. “I congratulate Rahulji for his election as Congress president. My best wishes for a fruitful tenure.”
Congress insiders feel that besides the uphill task of taking on Mr Modi, the Congress president-elect would now have to plan the roadmap ahead. “The most crucial part will be to maintain a delicate balance between secularism and soft Hindutva,” a senior Congress leader said.
