Coming to other states where the Congress has gained -- Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana-- Rahul would know better that his role has been limited here. In Rajasthan and Delhi the good run of the Assembly results continued and in Madhya Pradesh the Congress gained more seats but the vote share did not go up commensurately. In Haryana it has been a status quo.
Rahul should generously credit his allies like DMK and Trinamool for shoring up the UPA's numbers in TN and West Bengal. If in TN the Congress numbers dipped from 10 to8, in WB they stay put at 6, while the DMK improved to 18 from 16 and the Trinamool jumped from one seat to 19. In both the states Congress has been lucky to ride piggyback on its allies.
People, including the PM, are also crediting Rahul with inspiring the youth in urban areas to vote for the Congress, but thenwere we not rueing the poor voter turnout in cities a few weeks ago? In constituencies like Mumbai South and Bangalore Souththe voting percentage actually dropped below the 2004 figures.
Rahul should modestly point these facts out to himself and suggest that he should be given a couple of more chances before such burdens of victory are placed on his delicate shoulders. He should repeat to his mirror-image what the chorus sings in Sophocles 'Antigone': "Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way. The gods must have their due. Great words by men of pride bring greater blows upon them. So wisdom comes to the old."
More importantly, in this season of extreme flattery, Rahul may also benefit from appointing some critics around him. The sixteenth century saint-poet Purandara Dasa sang:"Nindakaru irabeku, Kerige handi iruvanthe...'" roughly meaning there should be critics around like there areswine to clear the mess in our lanes and localities. Rahul's father Rajiv too had once quoted Purandara when he came to inaugurate the first world Kannada meet in Mysore in the 80s. He had picked the lines:"Eesabeku iddu jaisabeku, Hesige samsaradalli, Aase lesha illadange, Eesabeku iddujaisabeku." A paraphrase would mean: You have to swim, stay on and win. Renunciation is not the answer. In this dirty world (read politics) you shouldn't be greedy if you have to finally emerge victorious. You have to swim, stay on and win.
If all this is too esoteric and alien, here's something that may instantly appeal. I found a brilliant quote on theHamara Congress site, run byRajeev Gowda an IIM Bangalore professor and his friend SanjayJha: "What is he aiming at with all his want of aim? What lies behind that mask of his, what will to power, what insatiate longings? His conceit is already formidable. It must be checked. We want noCaesars."
Apparently, this quote is an excerpt from an article titled 'Rashtrapati,' published around 1937 in Calcutta'sModern Review and it was a critique of Jawaharlal Nehru by a person called 'Chanakya.' The entry on the site says: "It was an era when dictators were running rampant in Europe. In India, Jawaharlal Nehru was president of the Indian National Congress. Already the question of 'After Gandhi Who?' was in the air. It was only some years later that Indians learned that the 'Chanakya' who raised questions about Nehru’s potentially autocratic tendencies was none other than Nehru himself.
So, do as your great-grandfather did, Rahul: Talk to the mirror.