Column

Priyanka Vadra would make a much better prime minister than Rahul Gandhi. Why doesn’t the Congress push her, instead of him?” This was a common enough comment last week,after the story broke about Priyanka having met Nalini, who was involved in the assassination of her father Rajiv Gandhi, in jail.

Every reported aspect of that meeting was digested and analysed and discussed. The small bits — how both cried silently for some time, the questions that Priyanka asked, Nalini’s reaction — made the story that much more human.

That anyone should make the brave effort of confronting a parent’s killer (though Nalini technically was not the assassin) and forgive caught everyone’s imagination. She is seeking closure, said many. Redemption and forgiveness are very Indian characteristics, said others.

Then there was theunderlying if unstated reaction — the Nehru-Gandhis do things differently.

Which is where the political dimension enters the picture. Priyanka may not have had a political angle in mind, but can a scion of India’s first family get away from politics?

Scores of interpretations have already begun making the rounds — it was Sonia’s game plan to woo Tamilians; this will make the DMK (said to be a supporter of the LTTE) happy; it fits in with the overall scheme of things of slowly building bridges with every community (Sonia apologised to the Sikhs, Rahul is working on the Dalits) and so on.

All this remained secondary. What caught the imagination was the simple act of a daughter who connected with another human being on a purely emotional level. It brought back memories of that horrible event of 18 years ago. But it also showed that the Gandhi family’s special appeal has traction across generations.

But is the right Gandhi out there in politics? Rahul is now part of the family business. He goes about making speeches, running an outreach programme which is delivering mixed results and is clearly being groomed for a bigger role for the future.

In fact, as far as the loyal retainers are concerned, he is already the prime minister in waiting. Just when the Priyanka story was breaking, allies like the NCP and the DMK and loyalists like Arjun Singh were proclaiming their support to young Rahul.

Priyanka on the other hand is not even in mainstream politics. It’s not that she has not taken part in political campaigning in the past: in the last election, her appeal to the voters of Rae Bareli not to support Arun Nehru saw him come fifth in the race.

But after the last election, she chose to move back into the shadows and has let her brother take the limelight. The image we have is of a beautiful young woman,wearing simple cotton saris and content to be a mother and a wife.

But her humanity shines through. Much before the Nalini episode, Priyanka had shown her ability to connect with the masses. In villages, she is in her element, hugging an old woman here and playing with a child there.

Old timers recalled her grandmother’s deft touch with the common man and saw the same steelystoicism in Priyanka; she is Indira Gandhi reincarnated, they said. Is it surprising therefore that the question is being asked — why Rahul, why not Priyanka for prime minister?

Just last week, the Congress made a big show of informing the world that it was embarrassed about the unsolicitedendorsement of Rahul as prime minister by “sycophants”, which is a bit rich given what the Congress culture is. The bigger point is that no one — not the party, notSonia Gandhi and not Rahul himself — has yet formally announced that he is a prime minister in waiting. So it makes no sense to prefer Priyanka over him.

Yet, the very fact that such a question is asked implies that for many of us, the issue of dynastic succession is somewhat of a non-starter. Till recently, when we thought of political dynasties, we thought of the Nehru-Gandhis and felt it was an outdated idea in an era of meritocracy.

Now, political dynasties are a fact of life not only in India or in South Asia, but in many other democracies in the world, from the Philippines to Singapore to the United States. Why make a fuss here?Besides, Sonia Gandhi could have become the prime minister but she didn’t. So if the Congress party and the allies are ready for Rahul, so be it.So the country is gearing up for the GenNext of the Gandhis; but once again the question is heard — which one will we get?

Email: sidharth01@dnaindia.net