Happy birthday and all: Rahul Gandhi turns 46 today but he has more pressing needs

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi turned 46 on Sunday. Wishes poured in from all quarters, but with the Congress going through one of its worst phases since its inception, does the Gandhi scion really have the time to celebrate his birthday? It is an uphill task, especially for Rahul, of turning the party fortunes.

Since the drubbing Congress received in the General Assembly Election in 2014, things have not been quite celebratory in the party. This year too, Congress’ performance in the crucial assembly election in the five states — Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Puducherry, Kerala and Assam — was abysmal. 2017 is a crucial year for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress for two reasons. As reports have suggested, Rahul might be anointed as the Congress president soon . If and when that happens, the Gandhi scion will be in charge of spearheading the mammoth and extremely important by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. The Congress party would ideally want to seal a win in the upcoming elections, especially with the Narendra Modi-led BJP government’s slogan of ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, becoming a reality for 131-year-old grand party.

While the Congress is looking at a complete organisational overhaul, the top brass has already been engaged in strategising for the upcoming elections. A senior party leader was quoted as saying that Rahul Gandhi has to take some tough decisions regarding the organisational set up of the party and need to answer questions regarding when he plans on taking on the role of the party president and defining his plans for the party.

A series of political setbacks have given rise to rebellion inside the Congress. And the examples are in front of us: Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and now in Karnataka. Most political pundits were of the view that this is the toughest phase for the Gandhi scion. “The party in the past has always looked to its “first family” to help it win elections. Rahul Gandhi is yet to perform or demonstrate the capability or even inclination to lead the parties electoral/political battles,” Sandeep Shastri, pro-vice-chancellor, Jain University, and director of its Centre for Research in Social Sciences and Education, was quoted as saying by Livemint.

His break into politics came in 2004 when he was elected as the MP for Amethi. He became the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 2007 and in 2013 office he has appointed as the party vice-president.

During an interview with Debobrat Ghose of Firstpost , historian and an expert on Congress history, Aditya Mukherjee said, “Rahul has to assert himself. When the Congress took big steps or decisions in the form of movement, no follow up happened. It’s because the party’s organisation is in a very bad shape.”

With the BJP aggressively launching Mission 265-plus campaign for the Uttar Pradesh elections, eyeing majority of the 403 seats in the state assembly, the Congress is scrambling to identify its chief ministerial candidate. Poll strategist and advisor Prashant Kishor has suggested the names of Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the CM nominee of the party. Finally, former Delhi Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit was nominated as the CM candidate for the 2017 polls.

However, there was much clamour of making Priyanka the chief ministerial face of Uttar Pradesh, given her charismatic personality and her connect with the public. Ghulam Nabi Azad, the new Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, also favoured Priyanka Gandhi campaigning outside Amethi and Rae Bareilly for the state assembly elections next year.

“I do hope that she will definitely campaign in some other places as per time available to her,” he said. Regarding Rahul Gandhi, Azad said the Congress vice-president will be elevated “at the decided time” and hence, there was no question of making him the leader of UP.

Not only does Rahul Gandhi have the task of reviving Congress, which is yet to recover from the series of electoral defeats that started with the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he has to keep the party together which saw the exit of some of the prominent regional leaders in recent times. He has to quell the discontent growing within the party as many of the workers have expressed their dissatisfaction over the functioning of the party.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished Rahul Gandhi on his birthday on Twitter. Of course, when it comes to the Congress vice-president, the Twiterratti can hardly resist taking potshots at him.

Birthday wishes to the Congress VP, Shri Rahul Gandhi. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life. @OfficeOfRG

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 19, 2016

It is Rahul Gandhi's birthday. One less candle on the cake; one more year of buffoonery, non-meaningful statements on way #HappyBirthdayRG

— Mitra Joshi (@mitrajo) June 19, 2016

Father's Day & Rahul Gandhi's birthday has fallen on the same day to warn men before they father a son

— Ra_Bies 2.0 (@Ra_Bies) June 19, 2016

It's not a coincidence that Rahul Gandhi's birthday is same as Fathers Day for no one owes more to his fathers surname than him

— Arnab Ray (@greatbong) June 19, 2016

Hello Rahul Gandhi @OfficeOfRG sir, your birthday is coming!#PappuSena is excited.

Hope you're not going out of #India for holidays?!?!

— Pappu Sena (@PappuSena) May 30, 2016

It's a touching moment when both Congress & BJP celebrating #HappyBirthdayRG with same fondness & zeal. Both have big expectations from him.

— Paresh Rawal fan (@Babu_Bhaiyaa) June 19, 2016

With inputs from agencies