Ten things Rahul Gandhi could learn from good friend Omar Abdullah
#1. Never switch off, and if you do, make sure the world is prepared for it
Since beginning campaigning for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah has been on Twitter, on television and in print, addressing rallies, giving interviews and uploading vines. He will be going to England on December 27, but he has announced that on Twitter. Unlike a certain Congress vice president who has a habit of disappearing on foreign holidays that no one has ever been able to track - or rather those who know don't dare to tell.
#2. How to make the most of what you have
As Omar Abdullah has pointed out in his tweets, PDP formed a government in 2002 with 16 seats. This time, despite anti-incumbency, National Conference fetched 17 seats (15 plus two independents), so as he put it, ''Excuse me for not rolling over to play dead". Even though National Conference went alone in these elections, electoral analysis by my friend Sushil Pandit shows that Omar's party actually gained a phenomenal six lakh votes between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, with voting percentage rising from 11.2 per cent to 20.8 per cent. See http://www.dailyo.in/opinion/numbers-reveal-just-how-badly-bjp-has-done-in-jammu-and-kashmir-polls/story/1/1228.html. With several ministers losing, Omar can always say that if the National Conference were to return to power in some measure, it would be new faces - who will carry none of the anti-incumbency of the previous six years.
#3. How to play mind games
As my colleague, Mail Today's well informed Naseer Ganai put it so well in his post-election analysis of the results, Omar has shown he is adept at playing mind games with both the BJP and the PDP. See http://www.dailyo.in/opinion/j-and-k-polls-omar-abdullahs-mind-games-and-pdps-dilemma/story/1/1221.html. Indeed, Omar has managed to confuse both observers and participants in the great game being played out in a terribly hung Assembly result.
#4. Never let a misconception about yourself pass
So when a Mumbai newspaper reported that he called those who attended Modi's rallies "bastards", he tagged an ANI news clip that showed what he actually said.
#5. Never let an opponent's mistake pass
When Ajatshatru Singh, who recently joined the BJP, told his constituents to vote on the "hal" (the symbol of the National Conference) he quickly uploaded the file, calling it Ajat's ''epic gaffe" and said it was clearly because he had party hopped a bit too much.
#6. Correct yourself before others do
So when a court in Pakistan gave bail to LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Omar quickly distanced himself from the #IndiawithPakistan hashtag that had swept everyone along immediately after the brutal Peshawar attack.
#7. Sound humble, even if you aren't
So Omar has spent a considerable time thanking the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their support, noting how the situation could have been far worse given the floods, Afzal Guru's hanging and the 2010 unrest. That's a smart way of distancing himself from the past, without it seeming so. As my friend Rashneek Kher pointed out in DailyO, the National Conference fought this election as if it was their last. See link http://www.dailyo.in/opinion/yes-the-bjp-made-a-mark-in-jammu-and-kashmir-but-was-it-worth-the-compromise/story/1/1234.html.
#8. Don't lose your sense of humour
Moments after he resigned as chief minister, Omar tweeted an Arnold Schwarzenegger-worthy sign: "Keep calm 'cause, I'll be back". All Rahul Gandhi could do after being whipped by the BJP in the General Elections, was to be led to waiting cameras by his mother, speak a little, smile a lot, and that too weirdly, and then be led away before he could do further damage. Omar has always been smart to keep his father in the background, while all the time drawing on his advice and support when needed.
#9. Have a view on everything
Omar never loses an opportunity to tell the world what he feels on issues, whether it is Narendra Modi's attack on "dynasty politics"' or the BJP decision to give Atal Bihari Vajpayee the Bharat Ratna (and pointing out UPA government's lost chance, which he helpfully hashtagged, in not doing so).
#10. Keep all options open
Omar has history on his side were the BJP and the NC to opt for an alliance. Omar was junior minister in Vajpayee's cabinet. Even the BJP leaders of Jammu feel comfortable with Omar's NC and unlike the PDP they find it less demanding, points out Naseer Ganai. And if the BJP were to align with PDP, Omar will use it against his arch rivals in the Valley, since their previous hardline position will allow him to market the tie-up as a sell-out. Hmm, doesn't sound like the loser we all thought he would be, does he?