Will Rahul Gandhi's speeches really have an impact on voters?

From speaking about his grandmother’s assassination to his mother’s tears after being unable to vote for the Food Security Bill, Rahul Gandhi’s latest set of speeches have been the subject of intense debate. But can they acutally help the Congress in the upcoming state elections or the Lok Sabha elections? Experts are divided over the issue. Aarthi Ramachandran, independent journalist and author of ‘Decoding Rahul Gandhi’, one of the few books on Congress leader,said that the frequency with which Rahul is talking about his family, especially his mother, is a little new for her. However, it is not unusual in the context of his style of electioneering since 2004, when he stepped into political life. [caption id=“attachment_1193859” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rahul Gandhi during a recent rally. PTI[/caption] “From the 2007 Uttar Pradesh election campaign onwards– where he brought up his grandmother’s role in the division of Pakistan and spoke of how his father, Rajiv Gandhi, was willing to stand in front of Babri Masjid to protect it – he has frequently taken recourse to family stories to illustrate his worldview and underline his commitment to being in politics,” the author told Firstpost. With allegations of corruption against key ministers, the credibility of the prime minister at an all time low and economic slowdown, this is perhaps the most difficult phase of the UPA government. In what Ramachandran describes as ‘reflex action’ of the Congress, it turns to the charisma of the Nehru Gandhis when all else fails. “If Priyanka Gandhi was at the helm of the effort in the 1998 and 1999 election campaigns to project Sonia Gandhi in a big way, at this point, it is Rahul who is doing it, both for himself and his mother,” she said. Political analyst Jai Mrug agreed with Ramachandran and said that Indian politics is as much about IQ as it is about EQ (emotional quotient). If there is one way to cut through the maze of allegations it is through emotional commitment, said Mrug. “And with Gandhi family, it gets coupled with the legacy of commitment. Rahul is trying to play on these aspects,” he said. Others look at Rahul’s emotional pitch as an attempt to neutralize the effect of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who is one of the best orators in the BJP. Indian politics is about arousing passion. Both, Rahul and Modi are trying their hand at it, Suhas Palshikar, Professor at the Department of Political Science at Pune University, said. “Both of them will be happy that they will not have to talk about serious election issues. Based on whatever they say, the media will continue to project it as RaGa versus NaMo contest,” Palshikar said. Author and commentator, Tavleen Singh did not rule out the Modi impact on Rahul’s recent speeches. After Rahul’s Churu speech where he said that like his family members, he might get killed too, Singh said on an NDTV show, “I think he has been told by somebody to speak forcefully and he is overdoing it.” So will the tough talking Rahul improve the Congress’ prospects in the upcoming polls? “It may have some limited traction with voters who continue to attach significance to the Nehru-Gandhi name. It may achieve little as many of young and first time voters have faint memories of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi,” Ramachandran said. It’s a zero sum game where Rahul is trying to retain voters who swear by the Gandhi family, Mrug said. According to him, such speeches won’t cut much ice with voters at large because the Congress leader has failed to deliver since his foray into politics. “It does not matter what you say. Unless you have gone through the administrative grind, your views don’t carry credibility. This is his biggest drawback,” Mrug said.