The second indication came when Rahul was asked by her to interact with state leaders, coming to her for advice on the problems facing their respective states. In addition to this, the state leaders have been asked to compile a list of ministers and office bearers facing charges of corruption or embezzlement or being probed by any agency. Many leaders have been pleading with Sonia to appoint Rahul as working Congress president but he has told party leaders and his mother to wait for the right opportunity, preferably till the Uttar Pradesh elections are over. Sources say that Rahul has now agreed to takeover the reign of the party before UP elections. There is a strong possibility that Sonia may appoint him the working president before the UP poll.

For him stakes are high in UP. He has been favouring the party to go alone in UP but, later, changed his mind and at his stance the party entered into an alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh to improve the party’s prospects in western UP. Rahul and Digvijay Singh, who have been working hard to revive the party in the state, hope to repeat the performance of 2009 Lok Sabha election when the Congress won 21 of 80 seats. In the coming assembly elections the first batch of candidates have been declared much before the election. There was tradition in the Congress that the candidates were finalised at the last moment – even on the day of nomination.

One wonders if it will be correct to link Rahul’s future with UP elections. In spite of the hard work done by him and Digvijay Singh, the assembly election results are not going to be spectacular for the Congress; nor there is going to be a miracle. The party’s seats may go up by a few more. Most liberal estimate is that if the party wins 40 seats in 403-member house, it will be a big achievement. There is also no possibility of the Congress and the Ajit Singh’s party getting enough seats to stake claim to form the government. Prospects of Rahul’s becoming the Congress president should not be linked with UP election results.

The Congress leaders, particularly Digvijay Singh are confident that Anna factor will have no impact on UP election. On the contrary, if Anna Hazare campaigns against Congress, it would help the party. The dalits are already anti-Anna and his recent pro-BJP utterances have alienated Muslims too.

The feeling is that once Rahul takes a plunge, he will acquire more experience. He should interact more often with senior party leaders. Already he has been confabulating and, sometimes, taking advice, besides Digvijay Singh, from Pranab Mukherjee, Chidambaram, and low-profile Ahmed Patel. Generally the big leaders have started their respective political careers from grass-root level and went up. In case of Rahul, he started from the top; he has to go down to grass-root level to learn the nitty-gritty of politics.

Having crossed 40, Rahul is no longer a kid. His grand mother, Indira Gandhi became the Congress President when she was 42. In 1966 when she became the Prime Minister, she was 49. Rajiv Gandhi too was 40 when he became the party president and the Prime Minister. Jawaharlal Nehru himself became the Congress President at 40. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was barely 36 when he was elected the Congress President. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was under 40 when he ascended the Congress gaddi in 1905. But those were pre-independence days and top post in the party demanded different kind of responsibility.

Times changed vastly after independence and the Congress Presidents after 1947 had to face different kinds of challenges; planning, development, fighting communalism etc. Then the generations changed again; came the leaders who were born after independence. The Congress leaders of the 21st century, except very few, have a sense of history. They are not voracious readers, thinkers and visionary like Nehru. Rahul will do well to read history and develop a vision like his father, Rajiv Gandhi, before he heads the Congress party and becomes an aspirant for the Prime Minister’s post. While making Rahul the working President of the party, it Is amply clear that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not be disturbed. The equation between him and Sonia Gandhi is perfect and this combination is ideally suited in managing a coalition. (IPA Service)