‘Although it is hard work, I am enjoying it’

RAE BARELI: Rahul Gandhi has been canvassing for mother Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli for a fortnight. On the face of it, Rae Bareli is a steady platform from which Rahul can take a step up in public life. Gandhi, even her toughest detractor will concede, has all but won the seat.

For Rahul, however, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Gandhi has chosen him as her election manger. As Rahul contends with a responsibility that sister Priyanka handled in the last two elections, he will reflect that the pressure is not so much in the result as in its magnitude. But Rahul seems to be relishing the challenge. “Although it’s hard work, I am enjoying myself,” he says.

For someone who has been candid about his inexperience in politics, Rahul has acquitted himself well in his new role. “The organisation is the main thing and we have a system in place,” he says. Since the battle will be fought at the booths, Rahul says workers are critical.

 “Workers usually feel left out,” he says. “What we have done is to give them responsibility so that they can deliver.”  

Rahul says he has studied Rae Bareli’s background, poring over election data and voting trends. “The major reasons for low turnout are the heat and the distance that people have to travel to cast their votes,” he explains.

“I have been requesting them to set out early. What we have seen in the past is that women don’t tend to come out. We are encouraging them to come out early and vote.”

Though Rahul won’t admit it, he is aware that he is on trial and must prove his capability of leading the party in Uttar Pradesh.

If the Congress is to be revived, it must regain its presence in UP and Bihar. And Rahul believes that what is being done in Rae Bareli can be replicated in other parts of the state. “It is certainly possible,” he says.

“Right now, though, I’m doing a specific job in Rae Bareli.” On the question of leading the party in UP, he says simply: “I will do whatever I am told to do.”