An incompetent and dejected leader, Rahul Gandhi has revealed his desire to contest as the Congress’ Prime Ministerial candidate for 2019 general elections. On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi made it clear during an interaction with prominent personalities in Bengaluru, that if the Congress emerges as the single largest party, he will become the Prime Minister.
This statement by Rahul Gandhi reeks of hypocrisy. One can remember how the Congress criticized the BJP for announcing Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in 2013 in the run up to the 2014 general elections. In 2014, the members of the Congress party gave a statement that “It is against the Congress party’s tradition to name a Prime Ministerial candidate before elections.” They went on add that “the Constitution of India also says that the prime minister is chosen by the elected members of the majority party in the Lok Sabha”.
However, the way Rahul Gandhi has declared his prime ministerial aspirations shows that the Congress is not true to their own words. The idea that it is the exclusive right of the members of the Lok Sabha, to select the prime ministerial candidate has therefore been thrown out of the window. Constitutional morality and democratic values are mere excuses employed by the Congress.
When faced with huge anti-incumbency and the Modi wave in 2014, Rahul Gandhi had stated that he wants to bring a greater democracy in the Congress and in India. He had claimed that he will introduce a system of primaries in his party in order to reduce instances of the election tickets being bought with money and muscle power. He also claimed that not even a candidate from the Congress will be selected without going through the internal election process, has now become the prime ministerial candidate out of his own volition.
This revelation by Rahul Gandhi does not only expose the hypocrisy of the Congress and how it took a u-turn from its earlier stance, but is also a stark reminder of how the Congress cannot get beyond the authority of the Gandhi family. The way Rahul Gandhi announced his candidature without taking any party functionary in the loop speaks volumes about how dynasty rules the Congress. Rahul Gandhi alleges that Prime Minister Modi exercises his powers in an overbearing manner. However, the way Rahul Gandhi has taken an immensely important decision single-handedly shows that no leader is allowed to even voice his opinion in the Congress. This shows that the affairs of the party could be running on the basis of a selective leadership.
One, however, feels for Rahul Gandhi due to his lukewarm announcement of candidature in sharp contrast to the prime minister’s candidature in 2013. At that time, everyone was eager about when would the BJP announce Narendra Modi as its PM candidate. This time around no one is even bothered to know who will lead the Congress into elections. It is possible that Rahul Gandhi has made this announcement in order to gain some popularity. It shows how the Congress has been reduced from the dominant political player to an attention-seeker under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership over the party.