A Gandhi presses the flesh to woo India's largest state
The youngest of the Gandhi dynasty is campaigning to help the Congress Party win in Uttar Pradesh.
from the April 9, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
To those who know him, this is not a surprise. Gandhi was the "nice, well behaved" child who had a good sense of humor but was naturally shy, says Rasheed Kidwai, who wrote "Sonia," a biography of Gandhi's mother.
Like Sonia Gandhi, who overcame shyness to become the head of the Congress Party, Rahul "will become less shy, more confident, the more experience he has," Mr. Kidwai says.
In some respects, Uttar Pradesh is an odd choice as a political nursery. The state presents Indian politics at its most visceral – a cock fight of casteism, religious baiting, and inexhaustible (though often well-founded) charges of corruption.
By contrast, the Harvard- and Cambridge-educated Gandhi has a dark side – a high-brow love for shooting pistols, driving fast cars, and spending long hours surfing the Web. In this crowd, he is an "aw-shucks" neophyte in perfectly pressed shirts – and he has come late to the game.
"He has been too inactive politically since he became a [member of parliament], and he started his campaign in [Uttar Pradesh] too late," says Inder Malhotra, a political analyst.
Then again, no one expects him to be able to reverse Congress's fortunes in a state that is so divided by caste politics. So, in effect, the pressure is off, allowing him to take his turn as a debutant with very little on the line.
"Rahul understands this, too," Mr. Malhotra adds. "It's not just about these elections – he is taking a long-term view to general elections in 2009."
To that end, Gandhi's goals in Uttar Pradesh have been simple: to broadcast his identity as a young, charming Gandhi and to appeal to voters weary of caste-based politics. In other words, to stay clean and to stay above the fray.
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