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On the last day of a four-day organisational meeting at Khanna in Ludhiana, Punjab, early this month, Congress leaders were busy discussing the questionnaires given to them seeking their views on changes they would like to see at the block, district and state levels of the party, when suddenly Rahul Gandhi walked in. The newly appointed Congress vice-president listened to the speakers at the event and then, with a microphone in hand, walked over to one of the delegates and requested him to hand over any identity card he possessed.
Holding up the driving licence the person had sheepishly given to him, Gandhi asked the delegates: "What does this card give you? The power to drive your vehicle." Then, raising the party identity card of an office-bearer, Gandhi continued: "And this Congress ID card gives you no power... No powers have been defined in designated roles. Nobody knows what is expected of him. But that has to change." He further told the delegates he would prepare a system wherein "clear job roles and targets to be achieved" would be defined. (A NATIONWIDE AFFAIR)
Gandhi's surprise visit to Khanna, as some would say, was typical of the 43-year old's style of functioning. His elevation as the vice-president of the 128-year old party on January 19 at the Chintan Shivir (brainstorming camp) in Jaipur marked the end of a long wait of party workers to see the Gandhi scion assuming a "bigger role". From the time he entered politics in May 2004, he had consistently declined any elevation. Gandhi finally bit the bullet, partly forced by the illness of his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
So, how has been the first 100 days of Gandhi as the party vice-president? Even his worst critics would admit Gandhi has succeeded in managing a quiet shift from being the general secretary in charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students' Union of India to the "second-in-command" of the Congress party. Instead of accepting a ministerial post, he has been focusing on the party's organisational revival. Critics like historian Ramachandra Guha have attacked his "diffidence to take a line job like running a ministry".
Nevertheless, in the last 100 days, he has had a packed schedule--visiting 11 states and addressing as many as four public meetings on a single day in poll-bound states like Tripura in February. (See table). Venues of meetings with "RG" (as he is called in Congress circles) have now shifted from 12, Tughlaq Lane, his residence, to 24, Akbar Road, the party office. He also addressed the captains of Indian industry at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)'s annual convention on April 4. "For the first time, the aam Congress worker feels empowered. Gandhi has been reaching out to even the block-level worker without senior intermediaries and having one-to-one interactions with them," Youth Congress president Rajeev Satav, who has worked closely with Gandhi, told Business Standard. "For the ordinary worker, it is now not impossible to reach out to Delhi and the top bosses."
Gandhi has also rewritten the way state Congress chiefs are appointed. He visited Punjab several times before the former Youth Congress leader, Partap Singh Bajwa, was appointed Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief. On March 23, in Punjab four vice-presidents were appointed to work alongside the state PCC chief, for better management of the different regions - Malwa, Doaba and Majha. The appointment of Himachal Pradesh PCC chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Bihar PCC chief Ashok Choudhary also bears the Gandhi stamp. Early this month, he decided to scrap the ambitious scheme in Uttar Pradesh of having eight zonal presidents on account of "non-performance" of senior leaders. Gandhi may have ushered in elections in a "frontal organisation" like the Youth Congress, but he is yet to do the same with the Congress party, say critics. Even Gandhi knows "you cannot step on senior Congress leaders' toes and introduce elections to the post of office-bearers at the AICC (All India Congress Committee) level," said a Congress party insider, requesting anonymity. "Gandhi's focus in the Congress is only to the extent of introducing 'age-related tenure' in party posts, defining specific roles and powers and stressing on the principle of perform or perish."
A senior Congress leader said: "The induction of new faces in the party organisation has already stirred old hands like Motilal Vora and Janardhan Dwivedi into far more active roles than before."
Union minister Salman Khurshid had created a stir sometime back when he said "we have only seen cameos of his (Gandhi's) thoughts and ideas." Recently, he told Business Standard: "Yes, indeed, he has now shown us his thoughts." Since the 'chintan shivir, "he's taken upon himself the role of a leader. He is leading from the front now, and I must say, he is hands-on." Though several Congress leaders have expressed their wish to project Gandhi as the party's next prime ministerial candidate, the party vice-president is yet to give any clear indication in this regard. At the CII event, he dismissed the talk of his becoming the prime minister. "These are irrelevant questions. It's all smoke," he said.
The Opposition, though, remains unimpressed by his performance. Janata Dal (United)'s spokesperson K C Tyagi regards him as having nothing more than the "Gandhi name" as credentials. "He has no political depth, has had no political struggle. He goes on these picnics of tribal areas, picnics to kisan and Dalit homes. How has he changed the lives of these people he talks so much about?" he asked.
Asked whether Gandhi had proved himself as a leader, the Bharatiya Janata Party's national spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told Business Standard: "Yes, he proved himself in Bihar in the 2010 state poll and then again in Uttar Pradesh, where he campaigned extensively along with the Congress president. (In both states, the Congress performed dismally). And, he's proved himself in Parliament, where, as an MP, we haven't heard him ask a question, except for the brief intervention that he made on the Lokpal Bill issue." Whether it is at the Chintan Shivir or at the CII convention, Gandhi comes up with good intentioned thoughts on public policy, " but why is the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government not implementing any one of his ideas?" she asked.
Delhi: Assembly elections due in 2013. Ajay Maken said trifurcation responsible for Delhi reverses in MCD polls. Gandhi unresponsive. J P Aggarwal complains against Sheila Dikshit, snubbed
Haryana: Congress in power, but slipping rapidly. Gandhi still with Chief Minister B S Hooda. Complaints about his Jat bias found no traction
Rajasthan: Assembly polls in end- 2013. Gandhi's message: Stop quarreling among yourselves
Madhya Pradesh: Assembly polls in end- 2013. PCC chief Kantilal Bhuria and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia attack each other in Gandhi's presence. Gandhi asks Bhuria to be more assertive. He asks partymen to attack the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government's corruption
Chhattisgarh: Assembly polls due late 2013. Gandhi shows irritation with internal fighting
Karnataka: Elections due next month. Gandhi entrusts state with aide Madhusudan Mistry. MPs ask Gandhi to campaign personally
Uttar Pradesh: Asks party MPs to criticise SP in UP, suggesting different strategies for the party in Lucknow and Delhi
Punjab: Despite Congress defeat, tells MPs to 'get going' against ruling Akali Dal. Punjab was his first party restructuring project
Maharashtra: About ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Gandhi says Congress "would bend only to a limit and not more".
Odisha: Asks MPs why Left wing extremists are being allowed to make political inroads. Urges MPs to intensify work among tribals
Jharkhand: Gandhi asks, "Tribals are naturally aligned to Congress. Why are they being allowed to drift away? "
Tamil Nadu: The 12 MPs tell Gandhi that strong sentiments are attached to the Sri Lankan issue. The interaction took place before the DMK pullout
Bihar: Congress out of power here since 2005. To revive party unit, young leader Ashok Choudhary, a Maha Dalit, appointed PCC chief. Gandhi says focus on organisation, to ally with RJD or not would be decided later
