Is Rahul back for good?

New Delhi: Vanvas, sanyas, or just another chill-pill break? Fifty-six days is indeed a long time for an “active” politician to be hibernating. My guess is our Rahul Baba may not have been in Thailand at all. Bechara Rahul Baba, wherever he was, undergoing whatever form of R&R, for all our sakes, let’s hope the man-child has come back with his batteries recharged. For once, I am feeling rather sorry for Mr Gandhi. Had I been in Sonia Gandhi’s place, I would have advised Mr Gandhi to spare himself (and us!) the tension of second-guessing his next move. We need an answer to just one basic question: Is Mr Gandhi back for good? Assuming the answer to that is “yes”, what does he propose to do? We can refer to the man as India’s “Reluctant Prince” etc., and romanticise his long absence from the country (aaah — destiny!), but the fact of the matter is simply this: Mr Gandhi ain’t cut out for the role being thrust on him by his mother. Perhaps the time has come for India to finally move on from the Nehru-Gandhi family. If Mr Gandhi does indeed have the courage to confront the truth about himself, if Mr Gandhi does declare boldly and firmly, “Guys. I feel your love. But guess what, I’m done,” he will definitely find a pretty honourable place in history. Mr Gandhi is entitled to opt out!

Delhiwallahs are experts at playing Chinese whispers, as I discovered during a short trip to the capital last week. Since the only topic everybody was obsessed was Mr Gandhi’s whereabouts, it was but natural that masala theories were being traded freely, irresponsibly, recklessly. All pretty yummy.

Given the delicious and often malicious tone of these exchanges, my ears didn’t stop flapping for a minute. I was Dumbo the elephant, listening avidly to political pundits of all hues. Every person was a Rahul Gandhi expert. One of them lowered his voice (when the Gandhis are mentioned in Delhi, voices get automatically lowered) and stated confidently that he knew where Mr Gandhi was. Egged on to reveal the secret destination, he said that would be the height of indiscretion, since Mr Gandhi was at the best possible place tending to a small problem. “Probe no further...” he winked. Message delivered to an awestruck audience. “Is that a new name for ‘introspection’?” sniggered a BJP spokesperson and everybody laughed.

It’s okay, Mr Gandhi. You are as entitled as anybody else to seek time out and do whatever it takes to find your equilibrium. That’s not a crime. If the help you were seeking makes you stronger nobody should be pointing fingers at you. But if, after your long sabbatical you decide to jump back into politics, take over as president of a lost-at-sea party, then my friend, you’d bloody better deliver — or else.

Mr Gandhi is lucky, being an Indian politician, that he could take such an ill-timed break from public life. Had such a high profile disappearance taken place in Britain, the United States or Europe, there would have been shrill demands for transparency from rival politicians and the public. People have the right to know when a prominent political figure goes MIA. But we are a considerate lot in India. We are sensitive to issues a family may be going through. The press, too, is far less intrusive in these matters. It is not possible that Mr Gandhi’s whereabouts and the real reason for his long absence were not known. Of course, people knew. But people also displayed the required level of consideration towards “The Family”.

But hello! Rahulji, you chose to come back. Your time starts now. No more excuses! Let’s also cut out all references to Mr Gandhi “sulking” — a leader never sulks! S/he does what is required. To suggest that he and Mrs Gandhi were not on the same page vis-a-vis key appointments is silly. If a major rethink is on the cards given the tattered state of the party, especially post-Delhi elections, it’s a matter that needs to be resolved sitting across the table. Not via a pedestrian ma-bete ka jhagda.

Self flagellation is hardly the way forward. Nor is martyrdom. A major overhaul should have been undertaken a few years ago. Several heads have been on the chopping block for a while. There is a pressing need to inject fresh ideas and re-energise the party by bringing in younger people. Why would Mrs Gandhi be unhappy with the March reshuffle? It was overdue! India desperately needs a break from the Nehru-Gandhi stranglehold which had the country in its grip for six decades. The more troubling question is what happens if

Mr Gandhi does indeed waltz away? So far as the aam janata is concerned, there may be an immense sense of relief. For Mrs Gandhi, there will be the inevitable disappointment — her beloved son, the inheritor of the great legacy... walking away into the sunset? For Congress loyalists, there will be an instant panic attack! They cannot imagine an India without the Gandhis — it has suited everybody very well for all these years, and kept the flock together. As cunning Congresswall-ahs often state, “Power must stay in 7, Janpath”.

For the BJP, they will have to find a new whipping-boy — going after Robert Vadra really isn’t the same thing!

But for most of us, the real problem is still a few years away. If the BJP loses the next election, and the Congress exists only in name, who or what will fill the huge gap?

Any answers?