As expected, the sycophants, who cling to the dynasty, are getting ready to take over the management of the young Gandhi. He should not fall into their trap and choose his new team with great care. It should have a mix of old and the young, experienced and inexperienced. The question is whether Rahul will be able to save the party and lead the UPA-III? The doubts linger because it has been almost nine years since he came to politics and is yet to prove his leadership credentials. They argue that he must have formed his own opinion during his whirlwind tours of the country hopping from one place to another, sometimes riding a train in Mumbai or taking out money from an ATM.

No doubt, the Congress party needs a boost in several parts of the country. For instance, it may be difficult to revive the party in the two big states — UP and Bihar — going by the recent Assembly election results. Rahul Gandhi and his mother played a big role during the campaign. States like Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal have gone out of the hands of the Congress. In the states like Delhi, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, the anti-incumbency is staring in its face. Where the Congress is a coalition partner like Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir, it is only a minor partner.

In such a situation the party needs a surgical operation to come back to power for the third time. After the Gujarat and Himachal elections this year elections to 11 state assemblies are scheduled for next year and then comes the Lok Sabha polls. These are acid tests for the leadership of Rahul, who has inherited a party hamstrung by corruption scandals and sharply declining electoral prospects in the states. Will Rahul Gandhi be able to perform this operation with precision? Is he capable of involving the old timers and the new crop of Congressmen and find a role for each of them? Will he able to revive the frontal organisations like the Sewa Dal, Mahila Congress and the NSUI in the next 18 months to face the polls? His experiments with the Youth Congress and the NSUI do not give much hope.

To lead the party the young Gandhi has to change his style of functioning. The first is to give up his role of leader as opposition within the Congress. Although he earned a lot of admirers when the bashed the Congress system, once he leads the party he also has to answer why he is unable to change the system. His pet scheme of democratisation of the party will have to be implemented slowly. The old guard is not very happy with these ideas.

The second is the party-government relationship. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the way out, it is for Rahul to fine-tune it. It may be easier if the party and the government hold hands and walk. Rahul has a big role to play in this important aspect. As the mother-son duo have backed the Prime Minister fully on reform measures, the party also has to propagate the achievements of the government and not criticise its policies. For instance, on price rise and inflation and other prickly issues, the party should help the government in explaining things.

Thirdly, Rahul needs a big welfare scheme to reach out to the aam admi. This is where the Food Security comes. Of course, the Congress can boast of the NREGA, RTI but he must reach out to the common man who is suffering from price rise and inflation. Although much noise has been made about the FDI in multi brand retail it is doubtful whether it will have desired impact on the aam admi. The Congress should think of a much more imaginative issue to touch the hearts of poor people.

Fourthly, how is he going to deal with the various scams hitting the government? Of course, cases like the 2G, CWG are in the court and they will take their own course. The most important thing is the perception that the Congress is leading a most corrupt government. How would Rahul get rid of this image and assure the people that when he becomes the prime minister things would become better? This requires a lot of hard work.

Fifthly, as the new face of the party, Rahul should also cultivate the allies who have to endorse his leadership in the UPA-III if the party comes to power. So far it is only Sonia Gandhi who is dealing with the allies. Will leaders like Sharad Pawar work under him or will he retire? Moreover, Rahul has not shown his manipulative skills so far in any negotiation. Even facing the Anna Hazare movement last year, Rahul had a different line. Indira Gandhi had the good sense to use Rajiv Gandhi in the Punjab crisis and other negotiations, but Sonia Gandhi has not channeled Rahul that way yet.

Rahul is slowly taking over after sharing the dais with his mother and Prime Minister last month at an impressive rally at the Ramlila grounds. He is the number two in the party. Recently, he has been appointed as the coordinator of the five-member high-powered election committee. The next 16 months will not be a bed of roses for the young Gandhi as the task ahead is stupendous and much is at stake. Sonia Gandhi revived the dynasty and the party in 1998 when she took over. Will Rahul Gandhi be able continue it? Will the voters support the Gandhi scion? Only time will tell. (IPA Service)