NEW DELHI, 4 May 2004 — Call it magic, charisma or mystique, the Gandhi impact on Indian minds is unbelievable. If one has to see it working, one needs to follow Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi on an electioneering trip and see how Indians go crazy just watching the Gandhi kids. A handshake here, a look there and a Gandhi hug on the way somewhere makes Indian poor wild.
Amethi has seen both Rahul, 33, Priyanka, 30, virtually grow amidst the townsmen. It was Rajiv Gandhi who brought both his siblings way back in 1982 to his constituency that he represented in Indian Parliament for three terms. Since then the remote Indian township of Amethi is the second home for both Rajiv Gandhi’s kids. “They have done so much for us that one could do”, points out Awadesh Kumar, a local resident. One can still believe Amethi going wild for the Gandhis who worked tirelessly for the development of the township.
But what makes cities like Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur etc go nuts just watching the Gandhi siblings? Varanasi, for instance, is a typical middle level Indian township with a huge population of traditional Banarasi saris. It is the sari manufacturing and trading that economically sustain the town. Besides, it is the major pilgrimage town for the Hindus. The Gandhi family has had no special connections with Varanasi. Yet Rahul came here, saw the townsmen and conquered them too.
It was an amazing experience for a journalist like me who has been covering Indian elections for over two decades. It is perhaps the only occasion when an Indian politician came to Varanasi, the entire town virtually was on the streets trying to reach Rahul Gandhi who gave no speech and left after mingling with the people. “I will not only vote for the Congress but will now work for the party”, Amresh Mishra, a local resident told this correspondent after watching Rahul who walked with a see of humanity on Varanasi streets. Rahul only shakes hands, waves to the crowds, walks with them and leaves winning over their hearts and minds. Same is true for Priyanka Gandhi who also gives speeches and her words make wonders with the public.
It is amazing and unbelievable seeing the Gandhi kids metamorphose the dead Congress into a lively party in Uttar Pradesh where the party failed to win any election since 1984. Now every one expects the Congress to do remarkably well in backyards of Uttar Pradesh in the ongoing parliamentary elections. But can the Gandhi kids’ magic really peddle the Congress to power that has been eluding the party since 1996?
Pushing the Congress to a clear victory on its own seems an impossible task even for superhumans. But Rahul and Priyanka together have surely infused a new life into the Congress party and have pushed it close to power after two rounds of polling in India. “Look, we did not believe we could form the government when elections started. But now all exit polls give us a chance with new allies”, claims Ahmad Patel, political secretary to the Congress president. “It is, indeed, the job of Soniaji and her kids”, believes Patel.
Rahul and Priyanka together have surely brought the Congress into reckoning while no Indian political observer gave even the remotest chance to the party when elections were announced. Yet the Congress seems away from power. The problem is not with the Gandhis but with the Congress managers who like Patel never believed that the party could make it this time if the Gandhi magic was used to the hilt.
Till the Gandhi kids did wonders in Amethi, Sultanpur, Rae Bareli and close by town of Varanasi, the Congress party had no plans to take them for campaigning elsewhere. Insiders tell that Rahul and Priyanka personally insisted to campaign after the second round. It is only now that the party is planning to take them to few more constituencies in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. It is too late and too little because the elections will be over by Monday.
The Congress is still reluctant to expose the Gandhi kids. The party, unsure about its prospects this time, seems to be waiting for the next round of elections. “Both Rahul and Priyanka will be more experienced and will be in a position to win us a victory at the national level”, confides a Sonia aide disclosing the party strategy. Still wait till the election results are out to see how much wonder the Gandhi kids did in this election. But there is no mistaking Rahul and Priyanka have surprised every Indian political observers.