Today is the 56th birthday of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. 24-When he was cutting the cake on Akbar Road, the 2029 Lok Sabha elections must have been in his mind. Just a day before his birthday, Rahul had claimed that PM Modi would leave the post within a year. In the same function, slogans of making Rahul Gandhi the PM were also echoed for several minutes. Now the big question is that amidst the charisma of Modi and the leadership tussle in the INDIA alliance, how will Rahul Gandhi move forward in the race for Prime Minister?
The question arises that what is the basis of Rahul Gandhi's desire to become the Prime Minister and how much scope is there for it to turn into reality? PM Modi's support base remains strong even today. But in the last one year, Rahul Gandhi has also increased his hold. He is trying to connect youth from Gen-Z to issues like NEET/CBSE and unemployment. Dalits, minorities and tribal sections are already considered with them.
If we talk about challenges, then the faces who would compete with Rahul Gandhi in the INDIA alliance are now almost on the margins. Sharad Pawar's political power has decreased. Mamata Banerjee is busy saving the party after the election shock. She was seen hugging Sonia Gandhi and also sent her nephew to meet Rahul. Mulayam Singh is no longer among us and Akhilesh Yadav is seen standing with Rahul.
Lalu Yadav is weak due to health and legal troubles. Tejashwi has also accepted Rahul's leadership. This means that the once challenging parties, Congress with 100 MPs and leaders are now seen with the opposition. Stalin may have distanced himself from the INDIA alliance but he was the first to raise the demand of making Rahul the PM face. Tamil Nadu CM and actor Vijay also seems comfortable with Rahul and openly supports him.
Uddhav Thackeray also seems to be in favor of Rahul's candidature. Overall, Rahul Gandhi seems to be coming out of the external obstacles of the alliance and the leadership dispute. Barring one or two exceptions, there is no major rebellion within the party. Senior leaders are now old, G-23 is over. There is no longer any serious question left regarding Rahul's command in the party.
Senior journalist Vinod Agnihotri says, if the support base of regional parties weakens, then Congress may get benefit as national opposition, but it will completely depend on the political conditions of the states. In such a situation, the biggest test before Rahul is to create a direct connect with the general public and weaken the strong relationship between Modi and the public.
Besides, it will also be necessary to win their trust by reducing conflicts with institutions. The ideological fight has its place, but without the cooperation of institutions the fight for 2029 will not be easy. The biggest wall in the path of Rahul Gandhi is PM Modi. BJP's Hindutva narrative and its stance on minorities also create problems for Rahul. Rahul is doing politics on Gandhian path with secular and inclusive thinking. The path is difficult and long. But Rahul is firm on his insistence. Neither is he in a hurry for power, nor does he want to do the politics of Sama, Daam, Dand, Bheed.
