Before his return, Rahul Gandhi sends back a truck full of questions to Congress workers

Besides the one he dumped on them when he disappeared

Rahul Gandhi has sent a truck full of questions back to his party before his return, adding to the dumper-load he left behind when he disappeared. 

His absence has coincided with a mini revival in the party’s morale. Or, at least in the morale of its leaders initially. How will these leaders and this revival fit in to Rahul Gandhi’s plan, which so far has focused on bringing a long-term internal change through a quick-turn purge of the old guard?

The boost to the Congress’ revival plans has been delivered by BJP’s decisiveness to push the Land ordinance through in its current shape – with no consent, no social impact assessment. Congress pounced on the opportunity – it has reacted quickly, persistently and with clarity. A letter-a-day missile offensive, holding rallies and dharnas, making precise issue and content-based attacks at the BJP on streets and on social media. 

A perceptive change has also been seen in the plethora of senior party functionaries coming together on a single platform in a cogent fashion. Ahmed Patel, the classic insider, is tweeting! Jairam Ramesh and P Chidambram are writing similar posts! Behind the curtains too the seniors are coordinating their public moves and doing it to match the pace of 24*7 TV news streams. Read my colleague’s story here for some details.

As one mid-rung party functionary told over a cup of tea at a tea stall near the party office, “Land ordinance hi hamara leader hai abhi. (Land ordinance is our leader right now). 

“This quick off the ground, 24 by 7 politics has been missing for long since Rahul Gandhi became the de-facto window dispensing the party line. As another functionary said, “Kolkotta ke restaurants jaisa haal lagta hai kai baar. Lunch time pe restaurant band ho jaata hai staff ke lunch break ke liye (RG’s office operates at times feels it seems is like Calcutta’s apocryphal restaurants – shutting down at lunch hours so that the staff can have their meal in peace).”

Now that Gandhi scion is set to return after his self-imposed sabbatical, Congress workers have new variants of the old concerns. 

How will he deal with this 24*7 campaign around the Land ordinance that has been built in his absence involving senior and old Congress hands whom he would be happier seeing disappear into the sunset? How will he deal with the leaders who have utilised the break they got from the single window clearance system to take the lead? 

In his absence the party elders and leadership have slowly widened the campaign trying to turn it in to a classic and wider poor versus corporate greed story. Day before the Congress expanded its line of attack with its claims of NDA’s dilution of environment and tribal concerns. The coupling between the Congress line of attack and the rural distress has got the BJP batting more strongly that its ordinance and its other actions are as much for the farmers and the poor’. 

But, is Rahul Gandhi looking to revive the party’s fortunes through a public campaign on the plank that has come up in his absence or through an internal act of fresh-blood infusion? Does he see the as sequential targets or is he willing to do both in parallel (that requires all the more energy and desire for full-time politics)? 

In either case, with his return, the clearance window at his home office 12 Tughlak Lane will be up and open again for the leaders to queue up before. Rahul’s absence came handy to stir up the land ordinance campaign without prior informed consent. How will they react now when they have to wait for the signal constantly before they act?

And, what if the BJP does get its ordinance turned in to a law by getting some friendly opposition parties to walk out and others to vote alongside – like it has in the previous two cases of the coal and mining laws? To keep up the pace BJP leadership sets, Congress needs to be constantly in touch with the leaders of other opposition parties, sussing out the changing dynamics and consequences of investigations by central agencies and centre-state trade-offs. Will the Congress vice-president like to do that? 

Congress leaders say Rahul Gandhi will be at the Ram Lila ground addressing the party’s rally on April 19 addressing farmers. The party would be as keenly waiting for him to address the questions he left behind unanswered when he scooted out of Delhi and the questions he has couriered back to Delhi before his planned return.