The Congress-sponsored farmers’ rally organised in Delhi on Sunday to oppose the land acquisition bill was a clever tactical move. It was a declaration of intent by the party to pick up the gauntlet against the triumphalism of the Narendra Modi government. Most Congress-watchers in the media have seen the rally as an occasion for party vice-president and heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi to make his mark yet again. The Gandhi scion had been debuting time and again over the last decade to emerge as the charismatic leader who would lead the Congress in the future. Sunday’s rally has been pitched as a political comeback for Gandhi — yet another opportunity for him to prove his mettle as party leader. 

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The Congress — today — is in a complicated space. Party leaders are agonising over whether or not to hand over the Congress’s reins to Rahul. The inner-party debate has shifted to issues around generational change.

There is a ginger group which feels that the reluctant and introvert Rahul should be thrust into the driver’s seat regardless of his own wishes or vacillations. The older generation wants to play it safe and continue with Sonia Gandhi’s leadership. The question is: has Rahul lived up to the expectations of his followers? Many would argue that the Congress vice-president did reveal a spark in his speech; that he did deliver a punch at Sunday’s rally. But, is it enough to prove his mettle in leading a massive party like the Congress? So far, Rahul has been erratic in his espousal of causes that he claims to hold dear to his heart. Sure, his recent long absence from the political churn in Parliament and outside of it is expected to have transformed Rahul into a more consistent and effective leader. But Gandhi’s Sunday’s speech has not settled the issue either way.

Though the party still remains indecisive on the leadership dilemma, it could still put together a brand of politics which would be an effective political counterpoint to the ruling BJP. The farmers’ prevailing anger and dissatisfaction over the amendments to the land acquisition bill have pushed the government to the wall. The BJP, turning defensive, is trying to refute the opposition charge that it is either anti-farmer or anti-poor. True, the BJP could wriggle its way out of the tight spot at the end of the day. But for the moment the party is facing brickbats on the land acquisition bill. The question is whether the Congress can turn the BJP’s discomfiture into its own political gain. And whether Rahul can be the leader to put the government on the mat and walk away with brownie points. 

While the government finds itself put on notice on the land acquisition bill, that still does not make the Congress’ decision on anointing Rahul as the party’s supreme leader any easier. The Congress finds itself in a genuine quandary. Surprisingly, several Congressmen have stuck their necks out and asserted that Gandhi should wait his turn while his mother continues to helm the party. But at the end, it is the kind of politics that the Congress intends to practice that would really matter in dragging the party out of the morass it today finds itself in.