Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed!

Rahul Gandhi is at the centre of a new political controversy- this time for presumably partying in Nepal. BJP leaders bashing him makes political sense. But it is time that you and I realise that Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed.

A video is going viral on social media. It shows Rahul Gandhi partying in a dimly lit nightclub, believed to be in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai was under seize. He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent.
Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate… pic.twitter.com/dW9t07YkzC
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 3, 2022

BJP leaders have been mocking and condemning Rahul Gandhi for abandoning his party that has been facing decimation across the country over the past decade or so. BJP could be criticising Rahul Gandhi because it helps the party further its general narrative against Congress. But I dare ask, is Rahul Gandhi really to blame?

Rahul Gandhi: The reluctant Yuvraj

Just like you and I, Rahul Gandhi could have been a victim of family and peer pressure. Like some of us were asked to prepare for IIT-JEE, others were asked to take over their parents’ business and yet some others were instructed to become civil servants, Rahul Gandhi was given the mandate of becoming a politician.

In our country, there is a tradition- it is the child who takes his parents’ legacy forward. And Rahul Gandhi came from the country’s first family- the family of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Rahul’s parents- Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi too led the Indian National Congress (INC). While Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister in the 1980s, Sonia Gandhi resurrected the INC in the 21st century.

So, it was presumed that Rahul Gandhi will take the political legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family forward. The party and the mainstream media transformed him into the Yuvraj of the Congress party.

Yet, Rahul’s career displayed that he could have become anything but a political leader.

Why Rahul Gandhi’s political career turned out to be a disaster

Within the Congress party, there have always been many followers. Yes, the party has had many popular leaders but there has always been a set of leaders who rally behind a Nehru-Gandhi family face. That face could be Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi. But the survival of these politicians almost invariably depended on a face from the family.

So, it was probably on the demand of these leaders that Rahul Gandhi was made the face of the party.

But some of the viral clips of Rahul Gandhi’s somewhat embarrassing political rallies show that he neither has any political expertise nor does he have any interest in politics. And above all, he doesn’t seem interested in chalking out poll strategies and going on marathon campaigns.

Rahul Gandhi: A firm believer in Nihilism?

What I understand for sure is the fact that Rahul Gandhi is a forced politician. What goes on in his mind is something that only Rahul and his close companions can tell.

However, Rahul Gandhi’s regular jaunts to exotic locations, unfiltered demeanour and unfurnished remarks suggest that he is probably a believer in nihilism. He probably believes that life is meaningless and he simply doesn’t see any point in devoting his life to larger purposes like winning elections and resurrecting his party.

And this is a feeling that all of us encounter temporarily while sitting on a serene Goa beach or driving through a quaint Himalayan village. However, that feeling goes away once we are back at our workplace. With Rahul Gandhi though nihilism seems more of a permanent thing.

Make no mistake, Rahul Gandhi isn’t an introvert. He does like a good show. He does enjoy speaking at public rallies and communicating his message. And he does communicate what he thinks in an honest way. However, he lacks the finesse and the interest of a politician in public speaking.

At the end of the day, Rahul Gandhi isn’t a politician. He could probably be a party-goer or a traveller. In fact, he could even be someone who lives a low-profile life close to nature. In 2014, he had even expressed the desire to settle in Arunachal Pradesh ‘after retirement.’

Yes, Rahul Gandhi does face criticism from the BJP and other opponents. For them, criticising the Gandhi scion is a part of their rajneetik dharma. But let’s cut him some slack and realise that he is living the life of a reluctant politician.