The silence of Varun Gandhi: Rahul's gain, Modi's loss

Et tu, Varun? When news came that Varun Gandhi was probably shifting his constituency to Sultanpur which shares a border with cousin Rahul’s Amethi, media started salivating at the prospect of the cousins coming that close to a Gandhi vs Gandhi fight. Now Varun has thrown a bucket of cold water on that idea. [caption id=“attachment_1434503” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Varun Gandhi. AFP[/caption] “I will never say a word against Rahul Gandhi,” he tells the media. “That is not my politics. I have made it clear to the party (BJP).” Rahul, of course, was never expected to say anything much about Varun. But the media hoped the hot-tempered Varun would be different. Kumkum Chadha remembers covering Varun when he first started campaigning for his mother. Writing for the Hindustan Times , Chadha recalls being impressed that “he knew every constituency, every district and every pocket of influence like the back of his hand”. But she was also struck by his temper. What he did not know was how to conduct himself. Like some boys his age, he was brash. He would ridicule local leaders. Of the half a dozen meetings that I attended, Varun asked a party functionary to shut up: “Chup be” he said before taking the mike. In the piece that I wrote, I said it all: about how bright he was for his age and cautioned against his aggression getting the better of him. But that outspokenness seems to have been stowed away for now. In fact, Varun tells The Telegraph that when he sees Rahul come under attack from the Opposition “I do feel uncomfortable.” He won’t campaign in either Rahul’s Amethi or Sonia’s Rae Bareli. This is a new avatar for Varun Gandhi, a far cry from the fire-breathing politician accused of intemperate utterances which landed him in court for stoking communal passions. That case was eventually dismissed. But it led to his cousins making rare comments about him. Priyanka accused him of spurning “what the Gandhis have lived and died for”, while Rahul said he was blinded by “hatred and anger”. Whether that experience has made him more careful, or marriage has mellowed him, Varun now denies he was ever a “firebrand.” “Fire only destroys. In life, only relations help,” he says. While the brash Varun could have been a headache for the BJP, this new peace and love avatar can be equally problematic in an election season. Varun has already been making news because he never takes Narendra Modi’s name in his election rallies. He claims it’s because he doesn’t take any names during campaigns. Of course he takes his father’s name often. During Modi’s big rally in Kolkata, Varun stirred up a little storm by apparently playing down the size of the rally and grading it just “okay”. Varun attended the rally but did not speak though the BJP posters had listed him as a speaker. At that time Madhu Kiswar stirred up even more trouble by tweeting “IE report: Varun Gandhi joins Modi Baiters. In private conversations he never made secret of pathological hatred for Modi. Now battle in open.” “Open” is debatable given that Varun isn’t saying anything. But it’s no secret that Narendra Modi is not Varun’s favourite BJP politician. In a 2004 interview with Outlook he pointed out that he had criticized Modi in Gujarat while campaigning. Asked about Modi in an interview with Mint , Varun made all the right noises. There is no doubt that Narendra Modi has captured the imagination of the country and become, for many, a symbol of hope and change. If people have strong reactions to Shri Modi, I consider that a very positive sign because you only feel strongly about someone that you believe matters. Asked who among the BJP leadership he was closest to, Varun didn’t mention Modi at all. Instead he lavished praise on one of his rivals for power – the currently miffed Sushma Swaraj. Sushmaji is that leader whom I look to as a second mother. She is the only leader who has consistently fought for me when I was at my lowest and been there for me through all of life’s tribulations. I owe anything I have achieved to her. Nobody can ever take her place in my heart. Many in the BJP are thrilled to have bagged a Gandhi and happy to field him in his father’s old constituency. But for a party that is vocal about its distaste for that particular dynasty, Varun’s heritage cannot but be a double-edged sword. But his reticence should not be a huge surprise. Varun has been outspoken but careful in his utterances about Rahul. While his mother Maneka had no problems dismissing Rahul as “immature” when he compared RSS to SIMI, Varun has politely ducked all comparisons saying “Having had a long innings in the ruling party, he is, by now, a seasoned politician. I, on the other hand, am just setting out on my first major assignment.” The closest he came to slamming Rahul was after Rahul dramatically called the ordnance shielding convicted lawmakers “nonsense.” “Rahul Gandhi’s comments were against the Prime Minister and made at a time when he was representing the nation on foreign soil," Varun said . “As such, the BJP thinks the remarks tantamount to insult of the nation as a whole and the Congress should apologise for it.” Note even there, he didn’t say Rahul should apologize for it. When he launched his campaign in Sultanpur media hyper ventilated about the epic battle to come. One headline read “Varun Gandhi blows poll bugle; invokes father, attacks cousin Rahul.” As a matter of fact all he really said about Rahul was ““Why is work done only in Amethi, Kannauj, Jaswant Nagar and Mainpuri, but not in Sultanpur?” Hardly fighting words. The media is spoiling for a Gandhi vs Gandhi fight and therefore blowing little snippets like that out of proportion. In not indulging them, Varun is probably showing political maturity. But it still leaves the BJP with a peculiar Varun problem. He won’t take the name of his cousin Rahul to pillory him. And he won’t take the name of Narendra Modi to praise him. On the campaign trail the silence of Varun Gandhi is speaking volumes.