Rahul Gandhi has continued to maintain that his first priority is fixing the Congress Party organisation, not running after the post of Prime Minister
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s observations on Tuesday, in an informal exchange with the press and party MPs, show that he has lost neither his intellectual consistency, nor his flair for expressing his pet thoughts, after his recent promotion in the party.
This is a good sign, for Mr Gandhi has continued to maintain that his first priority is fixing the Congress Party organisation, not running after the post of Prime Minister. In a phase in our national life when politicians have made a virtue of displaying overt ambition, self-abnegation of this kind begins to seem like idealism.
It is not the BJP’s Narendra Modi alone who has begun to sound loud, pompous and assertive in pressing his claim to be named his party’s candidate for PM. Samajwadi Party boss Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati too have shown a disinclination to embrace even a modicum of political modesty.
Will Mr Gandhi throw it away if he has the chance? That is yet to be seen. But asking that question now is to put the cart before the horse. The Congress will first have to wait to see if it has the numbers to be called to produce a Prime Minister. The clamour from a few in the party, who wish to be noticed by the high command, is not a substitute for Lok Sabha numbers.
In any case, Mr Gandhi has not said he would refuse the PM’s post if a clear opportunity arises. Stalwarts like Lal Bahadur Shastri and Atal Behari Vajpayee, whose conduct in public life was deemed model and who have suddenly been made the flavour of the season in self-serving public statements, did not pass up the chance for the top job. In an arena of competitive democratic politics, there is no particular merit in doing that.
However, the most striking aspect of what Mr Gandhi has just said is his renewed assault on the “high command culture” in his party. He also admitted with disarming candour that he can articulate his thoughts because he has been “parachuted” into the high position he holds. Such awareness will betray a democratic perspective provided the Congress scion shows seriousness of intent in cleaning up the Augean stables in his party and makes a noticeable effort to clear the mess which breeds a premium on the dynamics of privilege.
Attempting this will carry weight with ordinary people if Mr Gandhi can also simultaneously give expression to policy lines that are aligned to the hopes of the needy whose numbers in India stagger anyone with a conscience. That is the essence of the Gandhian view, to which the Congress vice-president deferred openly in the context of not seeking power for oneself.
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