In today's Mahabharata, who would Rahul Gandhi's Krishna be?
Political battles can be complicated and stony, yet reckonable when it comes to learning the lessons of the past. At a time when elections are being fought with utmost vehemence, one cannot rule out the possibility of drawing a war analogy, and which war could have set a better precedent than the Mahabharata itself.
If the Mahabharata was to be retold, the current Indian political scenario is cut out for the task. Loaded with violence, iniquitous accusations, and disturbing controversies, the present political and social scene of the nation is comparable to the Mahabharata epic.
Drawing analogies from the great epic, Rahul Gandhi recently likened Congress to the Pandavas and BJP to the Kauravas. During the Congress party's plenary session in March 2018, Rahul asserted - "Like the Kauravas, the BJP and the RSS are designed to fight for power, but like the Pandavas, the Congress is designed to fight for truth."
However, it's not the first time that the great Mahabharata epic has been invoked in the country's politics. We have seen several politicians mentioning Mahabharata and Indian politics in the same breath earlier too.
But now that the Congress president has bracketed Congress and Pandavas together, it is pretty apparent that Rahul himself needs to don the role of Arjuna - the hero of the Mahabharata war - leaving us with the most important question: Who will be his saarthi, Krishna?
Obliterating Arjuna's doubts with Krishna's wisdom
In life, we often find ourselves at crossroads - clueless about the present and concerned about the future. Several hundred years ago, Pandava warrior Arjuna was in a similar quandary - except that his dilemma was of a much bigger and led him to further doubts.
When Arjuna had qualms about going to war with his friends and family, it was Lord Krishna who cleared Arjuna's doubts with his wisdom. By acting as Arjuna's charioteer, Lord Krishna not only guided him but also imparted his knowledge to Arjuna to steer him into action.
To Arjuna, Lord Krishna was more than a charioteer in war; he was his friend, philosopher, his strategist and mentor. He helped him discern between right and wrong. And even when Arjuna was far from perfect, he had full belief in Krishna's words - that's what sets him apart from the rest.
When you go up against those who are mighty, you need a guide, an adviser, a well-intended friend beside you. Even Lord Rama was helped by Lord Hanuman in killing Ravana, a tyrant of mighty power.
So, if Rahul Gandhi wants to win the war against the dominating and powerful BJP, first and foremost, he needs a well-meaning adviser beside him - someone who sharpens and implements the broad strategy; translates ideas into actions that win this war against the entire RSS-BJP machinery.
The eye of the sparrow
Arjuna, the most influential of all the Pandavas, was known for his battle skills and unwavering focus. Once, when Guru Dronacharya asked his students (the Kauravas and Pandavas) to strike the eye of a wooden bird that was hung on a tree far from them, he first asked them to describe what they see.
While some saw the tree, others saw its leaves, mountains, sky, etc, it was Arjuna who said: "I can only see the eye of the bird."
For him, his target was all that mattered.
Likewise, Rahul Gandhi needs a razor-sharp focus.
It's been over 14 years since Rahul has been active in politics, but he has not been able to build a single narrative and that has kept him away from inspiring voters. Despite being hailed as the youth leader, he has not been able to capture the vision of the youth, as effectively as Narendra Modi did.
When Rahul Gandhi was learning the ropes of politics, Modi was busy building his brand. Yes Rahul did visit Dalit families, shared a meal with them and even stayed at Dalit houses during the initial few years of his political career, but the cause seems to have lost its focus in the quagmire of the socio-political maze.
Over the years, Rahul picked various issues - from the rising drug addiction in Punjab to farmer distress in Uttar Pradesh - but left them without actually fighting for them. Back in 2013, he even promised to change the face of Amethi, converting it into a model of development for the country. Unfortunately, the promise has so far remained a distant dream.
The Congress' growth has been crippled, thanks to a lack of political vision. The BJP, on the other hand, has been growing from strength to strength after losing the 2009 election to the Congress.
As the grand old party finds its footprint shrinking, Rahul must reinvent himself and the party's core vision. For years now, he has been mentioning that he is a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Then, why doesn't he bring the Mahatma back by following his political playbook as Congress needs his nationalism to defeat the RSS. Rahul has a great opportunity to wear the dual hat of a reformer and a politician, just like Mahatma Gandhi.
Today, Narendra Modi is snatching the Mahatma from Congress, but the party has failed to revive the spirit of the father of the nation.
Rahul Gandhi indeed has been unable to get a hang of the dynamics of politics within his coterie. Time and again he has been ill-advised by many around him and proved that his coterie is a stumbling block in his political growth.
Just like too many cooks spoil the broth, too many advisers have just confused the Congress president, instead of helping him. Who is that one go-to person whom he confides in?
That is in stark contrast to Narendra Modi, who runs the show with Amit Shah by his side. People may dislike their style of politics, but Modi and Shah make a perfect two-man tag team based on mutual trust, cooperation, and understanding. The success of this partnership is for all of us to see.
Breaking away from the anti-Hindu image is Rahul's biggest challenge
For a long time now, Congress has been trying to shun its anti-Hindu image. When the Gandhi scion was on a temple-visiting spree in Gujarat during the 2017 Assembly election, he avoided visiting non-Hindu shrines unlike what he did during the Uttar Pradesh elections. Later, the very same Rahul Gandhi was seen visiting temples, mosques, and churches in Karnataka just before the elections. Hence, the voter has been left confused. The narrative cannot be and should not be obscure.
Rahul has to understand that he can be a practicing Hindu and still respect all religions so his narrative needs to be consistent, irrespective of which part of the country he is campaigning in. Though playing the religious card is definitely not the narrative that India seeks from the Opposition, nor does the country need appeasement politics anymore.
The current times call for a keen initiative on part of the Congress to break away from its anti-Hindu image and embrace the core values of Hinduism. In order to defeat the RSS' Hindutva, Rahul needs to articulate Hinduism for people who are confusing Hindutva with Hinduism.
The Congress must disclose its stand on the Ayodhya dispute and not shy away from it. Let's not forget that in 1986, it was Rajiv Gandhi who persuaded then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Bir Bahadur Singh to unlock the disputed Ram Janambhoomi site. By not speaking on the Ayodhya issue, Lord Ram and Ram Rajya, envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi and promised to be fulfilled by Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress is ceding the space to the BJP.
Through the ebbs and flows of Congress' history, it had never shied away from Lord Ram and Hinduism. India's tallest icon and Congress' tallest leader, Mahatma Gandhi was a devout Hindu and followed the principles of Lord Ram. He envisaged that one day modern India would become a Ram Rajya.
Rahul needs to distance himself from the extreme leftists and focus on advocating a "secularism" that is for all, not for one particular community.
Looking at the recent Karnataka elections where the Congress party made an opportunistic offer to the Lingayats displays how the party has totally lost its secularism narrative. The party's decision to endorse the demand from Lingayat leaders to give them religious minority status worked against the party, and ultimately Congress had to face a crushing defeat in Karnataka, dimming its political fortunes.
I had commented on the issue during one of the TV debates that the Lingayat card is going to boomerang and the Congress should have refrained from sending such a contentious message that encourages reverse polarisation.
On the one hand, the party is trying to change its anti-Hindu image, and on the other, it touches the sensitive Lingayat issue.
By my lights, if the party really wants to distance itself from the anti-Hindu image that it has "earned" over the years, it must take a stand on issues related to Hindus just as vociferously as it takes up issues concerning the minorities.
Congress and the curious case of missing narrative
Last year, in one of my pieces, I mentioned how a narrative is often touted as a powerful predictor of success in politics, and how Congress has failed to build one.
More than one year down the line, the article still holds its relevance.
Till date, the party has failed to put forth its agenda to the public. So far, all that we have heard from the Opposition are constant rants about Modi's misgovernance. Please note, the more the Congress and its leaders inveigh against Narendra Modi, the more sympathy he evokes.
Rahul and the Congress party need to break free from the ideology that outdated leftists and confused wannabe liberals sipping exotic coffee in high-street cafes hold. Irrational liberalism or leftism doesn't define India.
Masses define India. In order to establish himself as an alternative to Modi, Rahul needs to adopt a national narrative. And the sooner he does that, the better it will be for his party.
In 2016, when Rahul Gandhi supported Kanhaiya Kumar in the Jawaharlal Nehru University sloganeering row and visited the university, he failed to calculate the gamut of possible consequences of this otherwise seemingly innocuous act. Although Kanhaiya Kumar and other students who were arrested on grounds of sedition were later granted bail, Rahul's presence in the campus in support of Kanhaiya Kumar gave birth to the perception that the Congress is not just anti-Hindu and pro-minorities, but also pro-secessionists or also known as anti-nationals.
The absence of a national narrative has been the prime cause of Congress' humiliating poll debacles in the past couple of years and how. But the party still hasn't learned from its mistakes.
Recall that the architect of Modi's spectacular popularity has been extraordinary political optics. Rahul too needs to understand what kind of optics will appeal to the electorate more. Choosing "good optics" over "bad optics" is another skill that Rahul should learn at the earliest - for conveying a political party's sentiments is as important as finding a strong narrative that gives it a unique identity, and optics play a great role in doing so.
The simple fact is that no leader can thrive politically in the absence of clarity of thoughts and decisiveness. Rahul Gandhi, thus, must have a clear action plan to give to the nation, and display the ability to take right and timely decisions. He also needs to take risks and stand up for what "he" believes in and identify those who mean well for the party vis-a-vis those who are with him to pursue their personal agenda.
A powerful national narrative can help the Congress party revive itself - giving the Indian democracy the Opposition it needs. Unfortunately, that narrative cannot gravitate around PM Modi.
Only a strategist with the right vision and political acumen can assist Rahul conquer this battle against the BJP. This Arjuna cannot win this war without his Krishna.