Off the record, Congressmen say Rahul may not have it in him to make a decisive impact in UP's fractured polity. "It just means we've one more sure seat in our kitty," quipped a party hand. "There may be a ripple effect but it isn't going to be significant beyond Sultanpur (the seat neighbouring Rae Bareli and Amethi)." Too little, too late just about sums up the party's take on Rahul's advent.
A snap poll conducted by C-Voter for Star TV in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies of UP, immediately following the announcement of Rahul's candidature, found that most voters believed his joining would benefit the party in the long run. He was perceived as young and energetic but inexperienced. Not surprisingly, most preferred Priyanka to Rahul.
Priyanka's adherents are legion. One of them even has a monthly magazine called World of Priyanka! For several months now, it had been clear that she was the one who would campaign, wooing voters as her elder brother is blooded in electoral politics. The compulsions of motherhood, the press was told, were stronger than the convictions of politics. The only surprise was that Rahul is contesting from Amethi, not Rae Bareli. "It means the Congress president has chosen the tougher seat," says Khursheed. But most see it as a sign that Sonia has made up her mind about the succession: Rahul is her first choice and only if he fails will Priyanka step in.
When he visited Amethi with Priyanka last month, she introduced him to assembled party workers thus: "He'll look after you now." In hindsight, it was a clear signal. Or was it? After all, it's Priyanka who has nurtured the constituency. Rahul could just as well have stood from Rae Bareli. Despite rumours about differences between Sonia and Priyanka on Rahul contesting the polls, there's nothing to prove this. The siblings are very close.
The bj's reaction to Rahul's candidature was predictable: dynasty had no place in a democracy even as it handed out tickets to Rajasthan CM Vasundhararaje's son Dushyant and Union finance minister Jaswant Singh's son Manvendra.
If Sonia's reliance on family has increased, it's clearly because her generals appear to be letting her down. Internecine warfare in the Congress has assumed violent proportions: last week, the police had to be called in to restrain party workers upset over ticket distribution in Tamil Nadu. They shouted slogans against cwc members Ahmed Patel and Kamal Nath. In fact, the entire pcc leadership walked out of the meeting chaired by Patel as they were miffed at having their suggestions ignored by him. The next day, infuriated by ticket distribution, the Andhra Pradesh cadre trashed cwc member Ghulam Nabi Azad's house.
The ongoing battle between the cwc's three minority leaders—Azad, Patel and Khursheed—is no secret. Patel and Khursheed have reportedly locked horns over the question of alliances in UP, with the former wooing the SP, the latter the bsp—both unsuccessfully! Will Rahul's entry put an end to the bickerings? Perhaps. Since he's a patient listener he might be able to pacify warring Congressmen better than his sister. That's a start.
