Post the two Yatras across the length and breadth of the country and his party’s performance in the 2024 parliamentary elections, where it doubled its (admittedly meagre) seats in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi is on a roll. His appointment as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the House has given him additional heft. His speeches have become punchier and some of his blows are landing well, provoking his main rival Narendra Modi to react.
Unlike scores of celebrities, politicians and Modi himself, Gandhi declined to attend the Ambani scion Anant’s wedding celebrations, and made it a point to let the world know, by visiting a pizzeria as any ordinary person on the night of the reception.
So props to him, as they say nowadays, and it’s winning him new fans, especially among young Indians. India is a young country and the tired rhetoric of an ageing Modi, with its incessant Gandhi family bashing and Hindutva ideology is leaving the younger demographic cold. Plus, his government’s failures in providing jobs and the rising inflation are major failures and Modi and his team don’t have any solutions. The recent elections showed that Modi’s appeal and rhetoric are no longer the magic wand that can win his party votes.
This is clearly an opportunity for Gandhi and his party. He is leading from the front and he is reaching his audiences through social media, which the young read. Mainstream media, especially television channels, are still in Modi’s lap despite the changed circumstances but perhaps they do not realise that they are no longer the preferred medium of the newly emergent Indian young adult. Which young person comes home and switches on the TV? Many don’t even subscribe to news channels. Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp and various apps keep them updated on what’s happening around the world. For example, Gandhi’s pizza outing went viral on social media, not on TV.
So far so good. But, Gandhi may be missing big opportunities here. Relentless attacks on Modi win points, but it may be time to broaden the repertoire. This is the moment when Gandhi can start connecting — directly and explicitly — with the dynamic younger generation on issues that really matter.
This is the cohort which is coming up with new, fresh ideas, and it has hopes and aspirations and also needs and wants to facilitate those dreams. A start up may want easier access to finances — does Gandhi have ideas in his vision to make that happen? Ditto a farmer who wants to grow only organic produce—will the Congress extend a helping hand? Does the party have a policy on education, especially on the distortion of history books? Parents are worried and children are confused — will Gandhi speak to them and address their concerns?
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Gandhi and the Congress are not in power, but as the biggest Opposition party and a national one, it needs to think big and speak of policies, plans and vision. Britain has a system of a shadow cabinet, which ensures that the work of the government in power is monitored by individual Opposition leaders. Here, in India, that system does not exist, but as the leading figure of the Congress, Gandhi can assign people to speak on specific subjects.
The bigger point here is that if the Congress is going to feel satisfied in attacking and mocking Modi, it will remain a party that exists only for that purpose. To hope that the BJP will make mistakes and then bank on the voters to usher in the Congress is a very short term, passive strategy.
This blind spot, as it were, about the urban voter, is not just because of Rahul Gandhi’s obsession with Modi. Narendra Modi does dominate the political landscape and the country’s opposition parties have now realised he has an Achilles Heel so they are going after a weakened leader. Gandhi has a particular antipathy towards Modi — perhaps because of years of humiliation by him and his party — so he won’t let go.
Some of it though has to do with the Congress party’s and the Gandhi family’s in particular, traditional reluctance to engage with the urban middle-classes. Indira Gandhi used to by pass the urban intelligentsia, especially the Delhi chattering classes, and the middle-classes and talk directly to the poor. They still loved her for it and were enthusiastic supporters of the Emergency.
Rajiv Gandhi though spoke of computers and telecoms and endeared himself to the middle-class but saw its fickleness when he was accused of corruption. Manmohan Singh’s first budget in 1991 kept the middle-class happy, but when the Congress saw it was in danger of losing the masses, because of the Mandir agitation, and remained out of power for eight years, Sonia Gandhi ensured that Singh’s government did not lose sight of the poor.
Also read: As Narendra Modi Stands Diminished, There’s a Lesson in This for Rahul Gandhi Too
Rahul Gandhi is following that tradition. He knows that the numbers come, not from the cities, but from the people who live in the villages and the small towns and who feel they have no voice in the country’s governance. Modi’s persona and heavily urban centric policies have further distanced the country’s youth from the running of this country. Rahul Gandhi, with his persona of sensitivity and empathy is winning over supporters.
But things have changed over 50 years. Technology has narrowed the gap between the urban and the rural and all that lies between. Start-ups are emerging even in small towns. The educated youth is now a country-wide phenomenon, impatient, in a hurry and looking for direction.
Rahul Gandhi has an opportunity to reach out to them. He has smart and young people on his side and they could help bridge the gap by formulating talking points. This is a ‘vote bank’ that is waiting to be tapped, but it will need an imaginative approach, which Rahul Gandhi can offer. They don’t want to hear about Hindutva or dynasty. They want to talk about the opportunities created by AI. They are uncomfortable with the WhatsApp groups their parents and their uncles are part of. Rahul Gandhi has a ready-made demographic waiting to hear from him. But for that he has to move his gaze in that direction and occasionally dial down his obsession with Modi.
