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It's clear, Rahul Gandhi is now de facto president of Congress

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Javed M Ansari
Javed M AnsariJan 11, 2017 | 21:37

It's clear, Rahul Gandhi is now de facto president of Congress

He may not have been officially named the party president, but slowly and surely he has emerged as the man in charge of the Congress party.

Sonia Gandhi, whether by accident or design, was conspicuous by her absence from the Jan Vedna National Convention of the party in the national capital. In her absence, all eyes were solely on Rahul Gandhi as he took charge of the proceedings, at the Talkatora Stadium.

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The day-long convention was meant to lay down the road map for the party in its fight against the government's demonetisation drive. But the highlight of the proceedings was the unmistakeable emergence of Rahul Gandhi as the de facto head of the Congress party.

From the moment he arrived at the venue to the time he spent on stage and the manner in which the Congress workers reacted and responded to both his speeches, there was no mistaking the fact that the party clearly sees him as their leader.

The entire top leadership of the party, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, AK Antony, all  stood up to welcome him and took their seats only after he had sat down. Even when he went backstage to spend time with party workers, senior leaders like Ahmad Patel, the man in charge of the convention, Janardhan Dwivedi, Randeep Surjewala kept walking up to him to be with him.

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He may not have been officially named the party president, but slowly and surely he has emerged as the man in charge of the Congress party. [Photo: Indiatoday.in]

So far he has chaired the last CWC meeting of the party, fronted the party's campaign against the government's demonetisation decision, both inside and outside Parliament.

In addition to his stewardship of the convention, he is also closely involved in the seat sharing negotiations currently underway with the SP and the RLD. The Congress has from time-to-time toyed with the idea of formally announcing him as its party president, it now appears that there has been a change in strategy.

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Rather than making a formal announcement, he is slowly being eased into the job, with Sonia Gandhi slowly but surely receding into the background.

In the past, there was certain unease amongst the veterans in the party over Rahul Gandhi taking over. He, too, would appear less than comfortable dealing with them. Over a period of time there is greater comfort level between him and them. The veterans are now resigned to his taking over the party and he, too, appears to have realised that he cannot jettison the entire old guard and hope to successfully steer the Congress party.  

Rahul Gandhi has covered some ground when it comes to public speaking and in taking people along. However he needs to get out of just baiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and instead put forward his vision and his solution to issues. He needs to ensure the Congress starts winning elections and for his party men to have confidence in his leadership. He needs to change the perception that he is not a full-time politician.

And to begin with, Rahul Gandhi needs to stop taking holidays abroad ever so often.

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Last updated: January 13, 2017 | 17:46
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