Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
servants of the British Raj reproduced as large prints on velvet). He did not have any of the
presence and charisma that one would expect from a 42-year-old leader.
This reticence made me wonder whether he could ever grow into the top role. A friend
suggested that maybe we should genuinely sympathize with his plight. He has a family leg-
acy that he is unable to escape - an assassinated grandmother and father, both revered lead-
ers, a mother who had defied conventions to be similarly recognized, and a country that put
him on a pedestal he would rather avoid. All his adult life he has been in the shadow of
his mother, as he was that afternoon. He has a sense of duty and genuinely wants to bring
real democracy to the Congress, but he knows he is not a natural heir to his larger-than-life
family. It is a strange mix, and begs the question whether he would change if and when he
took the top role. Would he then grow into his destiny? That Saturday afternoon, he looked
as if he just wanted to fade away.
Priyanka, his sister, would have been so much more personable in the art gallery, as she
always shows when appearing in public. She has an easy, approachable style and is able
and willing to talk informally with people she meets (including foreign journalists). That
is something that Rahul shies away from. There has been speculation about whether she
will - and should - take over the lead role from her brother, but Sonia has decided that her
son should be her heir. Priyanka has always said she does not want to enter politics, though
she has been playing an increasingly supportive role in Amethi, her mother's constituency,
which might lead to her becoming its member of parliament.
Rahul Emerges
Eventually, in January 2013, Rahul took the big step that he had shirked for so long and
was made the party's vice president, which confirmed him as his mother's number two and
heir apparent to the party leadership. It was an 'inevitable and incredible appointment'. 26
It was inevitable because, despite his reluctance, he had been seen for years as having the
dynastic right to rule India. Yet, it was incredible that a person who had shown little ability
or interest in fulfi lling that destiny should be chosen in a vibrant democracy of over a billi-
on people - and that this should be accepted without question by senior and able Congress
ministers and other party leaders. Some of those leaders would have made a better job in
the future of being the party president and prime minister, but they and others saw a Gandhi
- and Rahul was the one to hand - as the best bet to hold the party together and provide
the sort of iconic image for it to win elections and keep them in their posts of power and
patronage.
The announcement came at a large party conference and Rahul made an acceptance
speech that was strong on emotion and on what was wrong with the corrupt and power
Search WWH ::




Custom Search