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 3 of 3
It is a script that has served his family well – though sometimes in tragic circumstances. His father, Rajiv, became prime minister reluctantly only after his more politically minded brother died in a plane crash. After Rajiv was assassinated by a Sri Lankan suicide bomber in 1991, the Congress Party turned to his wife – Rahul's Italian-born mother, Sonia – to take up the cause. She refused, dropping out of the political picture for seven years, before returning to lead Congress to victory in the 2004 elections.
Even then, however, she refused the post of prime minister. "To the common man, anyone who is reluctant to come to power is divine," says Yashwant Deshmukh, a political analyst in Delhi.
Now Rahul is attempting to take that mantle on himself. "Being reluctant is a classical message," Mr. Deshmukh adds. "It has gone out into the masses" through the roadshow.
At a recent stop, Gandhi told reporters: "I am not in politics for position."
But Gandhi also has other goals in Uttar Pradesh, say others. "He is acutely conscious of the fact that his father became prime minister unwillingly, without being properly prepared, and so he is trying to get as much hands-on experience of politics as he possibly can," says Kidwai.
The more informal aspects of his cross-state campaign have played to generally favorable reviews. Though both his grandmother, Indira, and his father were assassinated, Gandhi was so at ease during the drive between rallies last month that security agencies expressed concerns over his frequent stops to greet crowds and linger over lunch at roadside restaurants.
Yet Gandhi's reviews on the platform have been mixed. One speech was canceled because of a low turnout, and another was marred by Gandhi's comment that his family would have saved a mosque demolished by Hindu nationalists had it been in power at the time in 1992.
But in the end, Gandhi can always turn his rhetoric to his famous heritage – and he has rarely lost an opportunity to do so.
That history is what brought Radhey Upadhyaya to Bareilly. Dressed in a smart brown jacket, the postal worker says he heard Rahul's great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru speak in 1956. And he came to Rahul's rally to show his loyalty to India's first family.
"No one else has made sacrifices for this country like [the Gandhis]," he says.
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