Not many, that's if any, political leaders in India have been subjected to as much ridicule as Rahul Gandhi. And it's come from all quarters- political opponents, media, or the common man- and in all forms- press conferences, GIFs, Memes, jokes, living room gossip, news articles, etc.- with little mercy shown to him.
From his speeches to the frequency of his appearances in or disappearances from the public view, from his holiday destinations to his attendance in Parliament, almost all parts of his life have garnered close attention, and have been reported and commented upon, often with a heavy dosage of mockery.
The long list of those guilty of dishing out such a treatment even includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Though he referred to him as "Shezada' (Prince) on campaigning for 2014 general elections, it's the word 'Pappu' that's gotten associated with the Gandhi scion following its consistent use by Modi's supporters and propaganda machinery, along with the general public.
While this approach by BJP (helped by Rahul's own blunders) has been effective in making it difficult to take him as a serious political leader and a match for Modi, such insults might finally be turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the Congress vice president.
As even though he has displayed signs of improvement in recent speeches and interactions on his tour of US, the impact of these in recreating his image has been way beyond proportional. Owing clearly to the drastic lowering of expectations from him with the public seemingly accepting the undeserved personal attacks hurled as reality.
So much so that even a decent performance is seen to be a giant leap and a good speech elevates him as an alternative to Modi. With most accusations of dynasty politics or having given little evidence to justify his political standing, disappearing in the background.
Read | The curious case of Rahul Gandhi
Helped further by responses by hordes of BJP's top ministers and leaders who held press conferences to counter Rahul's' comments, which not only brought them to everyone's attention but also gave the impression the whole government machinery had little else to do in terms of work at a time when economy has slowed down drastically, with communal intolerance on the rise and job creation scenario far worse than under the previous Congress-led government. He pointed all of these out during his talks, showcasing failed promises made by Modi before and after elections.
BJP's continuous efforts to ridicule also proves they haven't learnt from past mistakes of personal attacks on Sonia Gandhi ("Foreigner") before 2004 Lok Sabha elections or benefits of Congress taking on Modi ('Maut ka Saudagar' and 'Zeher ki kheti") till 2014. The results after these showed that come election day, such a strategy just doesn't work with Indian voters.
And so there is little chance of Rahul complaining about it and would instead highlight these organized attempts. As he did during his Berkeley speech by talking about a "thousand guys on their computers" helping create a false image and terming it a "BJP machine." He even took a dig at the Prime Minister by adding, "basically the operation is run by the gentleman who is running the country."
His finally coming out and pointing to such a campaign has more of an effect given, though targeted consistently for an extended period now he has not complained nor countered such name calling in the same vein, which helps in projecting him as a leader who can tolerate criticism. Unlike the current group in power, known for their intolerance to any criticism, valid or otherwise, particularly from journalists and inconvenient stories. With an army of online trolls ready to counter it by any means.
With reports suggesting he will become president of his party in November, only time will tell whether all this is enough to help Rahul to lead his party and a united opposition to victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections against Modi and his party. Yet with the narrative finally changing, and not in favor of those in government, it's bound to help him put up a better performance.
Despite all of this, no matter what happens in elections, at a personal level, if he's able to maintain and improve his current form that he's being praised for, Rahul won't be wrong for to thank his political opponents for it, starting with Modi and his party machinery.
OneIndia News
