How Rebel Rahul at least tried saving Congress' face

Let’s get this straight right at the beginning. Shakti Kapoor, Sreesanth and probably even Veena Malik’s latest film Super-model are in the better books of most Indians than the current UPA government. Saying that you ‘support’ the UPA government equals to blasphemy in the popular political narrative and people who passionately disagree with Narendra Modi also find it difficult to agree with anything the UPA government has done in the recent past. And to add death to misery, the Congress has now gone ahead and decided to take the ordinance route to bypass a SC ruling that demands all MPs and MLAs who have been convicted, to be suspended from the Parliament. What has it effectively done? It has stepped up to take the place of the mother hen who spread its protective wings over every criminal who has arm twisted his or her way into India’s Parliament. Now, what, pray, can save that party from electoral doom? And how can it wiggle out of a political catch 22 without either losing allies or losing the voter’s confidence. It might do what Rahul Gandhi did today. [caption id=“attachment_1137809” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rahul Gandhi. AFP.[/caption] Let’s do a quick recap of events of the few days. After the SC announced its judgment, the Congress-led government acted swiftly to move an ordinance to bypass the Supreme Court. The Aam Aadmi Party came out condemning the move and the BJP followed suit in a day. Senior BJP leaders met the President and took to social media slamming the government for coming up with the idea of the ordinance. Now if the ordinance is passed, what has the BJP got to lose? Nothing. If the ordinance is not signed by the President (which any politician of either Sushma Swaraj or Rajnath Singh’s merit would know isn’t possible, when the President is a prominent former Congress minister) what does the BJP have to lose? At the moment, nothing. What do they gain from making a lofty show of concern for cleansing the political ranks from corruption and crime? A sympathy they badly need for the upcoming polls. If indeed BJP, the biggest opposition party, was worried about corruption it wouldn’t give tickets to politicians with dubious histories and cases being fought against them in the court. Had that been the case, according to a survey by the National Election Watch, 31 percent of BJP MPs and MLAs wouldn’t be ones who have criminal proceedings presently on against them. According to the same survey, 64 percent of RJD’s lawmakers have criminal cases against them, 48 percent of SPs and 21 percent of Congress MPs and MLAs have criminal cases registered against them. Also, as the quick math following the SC verdict revealed, Lok Sabha MPs from neither of the warring parties were in immediate danger of conviction and hence ouster from the Parliament. The Congress, in the current state of things, probably deemed it necessary to save its own leaders facing prosecution and allies like Lalu Prasad Yadav, who might be convicted in the fodder scam case on 30 September. So how can the party possibly save Lalu and also its votes in face of an aggressive campaign against them by the BJP perched on a moral high horse?  By fielding a Rahul Gandhi, who doesn’t hold a government portfolio, and can conveniently come across as the rebel within the establishment. For us, who can do the political math, Rahul’s abrupt dismissal of the Congress government’s move, will come across as a wily, smart political move. But for thousands of voters who choose not to think through the complicated political arithmetic they are pawns to, Rahul Gandhi just set him apart from the older ranks his party. He also sent out a signal that the ‘change’ the whole country is craving for can also be found within the Congress itself, not essentially in another political party. After all, what is more attractive to the Indian voters who are constant in awe of flashy rhetoric, than a ‘rebel’ figure at odds with is own establishment? Officially, Rahul, who doesn’t hold a government portfolio is perfectly placed to make such a sweeping announcement. Firstly, he is not directly a part of the government so he can’t be logically blamed for the ordinance. Secondly, he is not an anonymous, not-too-appealing leader of the party whose dissent won’t fire a stormy political debate in mainstream media - his disapproval of the government  will not go unnoticed. Thirdly, for all you know, he might give an impression of trying to step out of darling mother’s shadows, like is widely accused. Fourthly, this might be his first step to hint that an alternative might also lie in him and his vision of what a government should be. Also, let’s give the man that, his ‘anti-establishment’ pitch is widely mocked, but is hardly a new one. His cosmetic fury might not be all without lasting  punch also. An article written by analyst Badri Narayan on Economic and Political Weekly before the Uttar Pradesh polls said that the grassroots, which had no faith in the Congress left, had started warming up to the party following Rahul Gandhi’s campaigning. Narayan visited several constituencies after Rahul visited them, with a team. Unlike the mainstream media’s dismissal of him, the Gandhi leader seems to have achieved some sort of a breakthrough in the state. Narayan notes about the villagers in Mallipur and Harsingpur: “They believe him to be an honest and good leader and feel that all leaders should be like him since he comes straight to them without the police or politicians mediating between them. He speaks directly with them and shares their joys and sorrows.” The Congress won six more seats in UP than the 2007 UP Assembly polls. If that is a template that the national polls follow, Rahul Gandhi might just have saved the Congress a huge embarrassment in the next elections.