The year was 1977. Indira Gandhi was found guilty of corruption and she refused to apply for bail, preferring to go to jail. She had one wish, which was not granted. That was to be handcuffed. The pictures of Indira Gandhi in handcuffs, she hoped, would be saved in posterity and could be used to bounce back and evoke sympathy.
Years later, daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi too tried the same strategy when in 2006 she suddenly resigned as MP of Raebareli over the office-of-profit issue. With a cotton saree tucked in sternly, Sonia brandished a sword in Raebareli where she drove down the next day, and made the point that she was not afraid to go to jail, knowing fully well it was not a jailable crime and that it was her party in power at the Centre.
Many years later, on a Monday afternoon, her son Rahul Gandhi adopted the same strategy. Not that he needed to go personally to appeal against his conviction; yet he did. Flying by a regular airline, he was accompanied by sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several senior leaders as well as three chief ministers. But would it evoke sympathy?
The BJP of course ridiculed this attempt to attract ground sympathy, which was limited actually. In Gujarat, the Congress had not done too well in the recent assembly polls. Poor morale and organisation were among the reasons for the dispiriting performance. So the groundswell of support the party may have hoped for in the PM’s home state was barely to be seen.
But now to add to this is the fact that, like grandmother and mother, can Rahul Gandhi use his legal turmoil to make a comeback through sympathy? Seems unlikely. Firstly, times have changed. Unlike in Indira and Sonia’s times, the present opponent is fiercer and more aggressive. Also, there are now many other powerful and ambitious smaller parties and regional parties that may not allow Rahul Gandhi to gain traction.
But tactically speaking, the BJP may not be too unhappy if Rahul Gandhi gains some sympathy. The ruling party would want the battle for 2024 to be largely Modi versus Rahul. And the more the Congress makes it about Rahul Gandhi’s victimhood, the more the BJP will use it to its advantage to project the Congress and the Gandhis as being entitled, unlike their projection of the PM as a “humble sevak”.
Rahul Gandhi in the role of an avenger suits the BJP. But it could unravel the Congress story for 2024, unlike the Indira and Sonia times. As times have changed. Entitlement has become a word to shun.
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