Tracing the evolution of Rahul Gandhi's political conduct

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi seen arriving at the Parliament house complex during the Budget Session, on February 9, 2023 in New Delhi. He was disqualified in March following a criminal defamation case filed by a BJP leader. Last week, Gandhi’s membership was reinstated after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction. Pic/Getty Images

What is the politics of Rahul Gandhi? It's a question that has confounded both, his supporters and detractors for some time. He has questioned the "greed for power" within his own party, and continues to trade barbs with the Opposition. Last year, when Gandhi pulled off the colossal Bharat Jodo Yatra, there were murmurs of course, not as much about its scale, but about the traction it would receive. This novel attempt at mass contact, however, turned out to be quite a successful endeavour, enough to at least keep the Congress cadre motivated. Gandhi himself, has since continued to make headlines, be it his disqualification as MP of Wayanad, his controversial visit to violence-torn Manipur and his recent comeback in Parliament, where his cri de coeur to save the burning Northeastern state was followed by a diatribe against PM Narendra Modi and the BJP: "You are throwing kerosene in the whole country. You threw kerosene in Manipur and lit a spark... You are killing Mother India," he said.

Journalist-author Sugata Srinivasaraju, who is out with a new book, Strange Burdens (Penguin Random House), that offers insight on the scion, in the context of the Modi and the BJP, says, "Rahul has always been his own person. He is not like his mother certainly, who had a set of advisors and went with their advice, and was a bit flexible in her approach. In his case, there's a certain kind of intransigence and stubbornness that comes across, which is often read as arrogance by the Opposition." According to Srinivasaraju, what makes Gandhi different from many others, is that he is not exactly collaborative in such a big party. "He has his ideas and wants to go through them."

These contradictions may at once, add to his allure, but has done little to diminish the force that is the BJP, which the Congress has accused of being authoritarian. "It [writing a book about Rahul] became an excuse to look at what is wrong with the liberal environment that we reside in, and what is not working about the ideas that he is putting forward," says Srinivasaraju.

Sugata Srinivasaraju says that Gandhi has always been his own person. "There's a certain kind of intransigence and stubbornness that comes across, which is often read as arrogance by the Opposition." Pic/Nishad Alam

Gandhi, he says, has made several efforts to dismantle the Modi system, and take his party to the next level. "Whether he has been successful or not is a different question?"

In the book, Srinivasaraju engages with the thoughts and ideas voiced by Gandhi, which while complex, have sometimes failed to captivate the masses. "Rahul Gandhi is not exactly a good communicator... he speaks in staccato sentences, and is ill-prepared for any big speech. I have analysed many of his speeches, and the structure has not changed since 2004," he says, adding, "Either he has not learnt his lesson, or he is very consistent." Gandhi, he says, tries to blend the personal and political, often referring to the assassination of his grandmother and father, at important bends in his political career, including his final speech at the Bharat Jodo Yatra, where "everyone was hoping he would speak about his learnings, having walked through India, seen multitudes and the diversity that was just an idea in his head, having made connections with people and experienced all the love". "Instead, he made a personal statement. Such a statement can only become powerful, when it evolves into something political."

Modi, on the other hand, brings in so many elements in his speech. "There's a certain coherence, and logic to his speech." Gandhi's arguments, he feels, tend to be far from cogent, even if he wears his heart on his sleeve. "His arguments in Parliament [on Wednesday] are a case in point," says Srinivasaraju, who calls it a missed opportunity. "There were so many upheavals in the last many months, and it felt like Gandhi would be unable to contest elections. But suddenly, his house was restored, and he has returned to the Parliament. One expected him to speak with a certain seriousness, and not raise angry slogans and walk away," feels Srinivasaraju, "He should have come up with a more constructive agenda to corner the BJP."

Rasheed Kidwai and Parimal Maya Sudhakar

Political commentator-journalist Rasheed Kidwai, who wrote a biography of Sonia Gandhi, however, feels Gandhi made the right noises. "I would give him a score of eight out of 10," he says. "I have been following him since his first speech... his confidence levels have gone up." According to Kidwai, Gandhi's debates are livelier, and unlike his opponent, Smriti Zubin Irani, who engages in a lot of whataboutery, he is more measured, he thinks. "He mixes his emotions with the right kind of aggressiveness." He also understands the power of punch lines and how they matter in the larger scheme of things. Kidwai feels that his no-holds-barred, forthright approach, is working for him. "The fact that the BJP was agitated, and his opponents deeply hurt and disquiet, says something. This was what Modi was doing in 2014."

The last two-and-a-half years has been most crucial and impactful in Gandhi's career, says Professor Parimal Maya Sudhakar, a Pune-based academic, columnist and commentator. "There has been an evolution in his personality. "It's not that he has changed a lot... the issues that he pursued earlier [unemployment, poverty etc], he continues to chase even now." But, Sudhakar feels, people are experiencing a sort of fatigue with the ruling dispensation. "They are finding it difficult to resonate with the government's campaign, and those who can't identify with it, are looking at Rahul Gandhi as an alternative." That the Congress has opted for a makeover, choosing Mallikarjun Kharge as its president, thus addressing the criticism of the party being ruled by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, has also helped set the wheels in motion for change.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra has also changed people's perception of him... in our society credit is always given to leaders who take efforts to connect with the masses. He is holding hands with them, hugging them, walking alongside with them. And while people are not thinking of it explicitly, they do appreciate it. PM Modi has been making a similar effort, but the distance between him and the masses is evident," feels Sudhakar.

He feels that Gandhi is not a "Parliamentarian", and "he isn't interested in performing in Parliament". Mahua Moitra of Trinamool Congress, and Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress are more eloquent, when compared to him. "But that doesn't seem to be his approach; he doesn't want to develop that domain," he says. "At the same time, he wants to use the Parliamentary platform to raise important agendas."

Srinivasaraju, however, says that the Parliament is a forum that demands coherence. "You have to present your facts, arguments and reasoning, while showing your empathetic side," he says.

"Politicians are performing all the time, for the camera and the eyes of people. They are the greatest actors around, but for that you have to be prepared." Gandhi, unfortunately, doesn't see merit in rehearsing. "I wish he worked on his speeches, because he comes from a very sincere place. He doesn't say things for the sake of it."

With inputs by Arpika Bhosale