It would not be wrong to say that Rahul Gandhi has now more than arrived. His decision to take over as the Leader of the Opposition in
the Lok Sabha is bad news for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has always targeted the Opposition by hook or crook over the past decade.
Rahul Gandhi being in the vanguard of the Opposition assault in Parliament is a signal that “business as usual” will not do for the Modi 3.0 government when the INDIA grouping is 237 strong, just three short of the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
The decision meant the 54-year-old leader would bat from the front when the Opposition needed a Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and K. Srikanth, all put together. What the Opposition is facing is consistent bodyline bowling. It is sheer menacing as well as mean. It is not cricket.
With Om Birla being made the Speaker for the second time, the obstacles are not over for the effective functioning of the Opposition, to say the least. But that is also a test for Mr Gandhi and the entire Opposition to improvise, adapt and overcome.
One thing is clear. Prime Minister Modi wanted the most dependable guy as the presiding officer at a time when the Anti-Defection Act gives him tremendous powers.
For the Opposition, Mr Gandhi is the best bet, having seen it and gone through it all. The worst and the best. The high tide and the low tide. He must have been the most abused, trolled, ridiculed and humiliated leader in Independent India.
Mr Gandhi stands vindicated at such a time when the challenges before the Opposition have not diminished a bit despite the INDIA grouping securing 237 seats, just three short of the BJP. Mr Modi is too sharp, shrewd and cunning.
Prashant Kishor, not exactly an admirer of Rahul or that of the Congress, had recently remarked in admiration about Mr Gandhi’s grit and determination in the past decade to keep going despite consistent debacles on the electoral front. If it was Mr Modi in Rahul’s place, he would have given up long back, Kishor suggested in a rare compliment.
One good thing in the new Lok Sabha is that Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav is also there and the Trinamul Congress firebrand, Mahua Moitra, is back with a renewed resolve. Akhilesh and Rahul, the “Do Ladke” of Uttar Pradesh, had performed creditably in the BJP’s bastion and India’s largest state, much to the shock of the Prime Minister and home minister Amit Shah.
We are now living in an unusual time when those in power are hailing India as the “mother of democracy” in international forums, but back home all powers are being used to see that the Opposition alliance is not referred to as “INDIA” by most of the media.
Times change. Those who project themselves as the outstanding leaders of their times are found with “feet of clay” even by their cheerleaders.
But the times just don’t pass like that and the challenge has to be met squarely, fully, and wholly.
It is no child’s play when the entire system is operated to project the “One Nation, One Leader” idea, however anathema in a democracy.
What is of prime importance is to have greater cohesion, cooperation and camaraderie within the Opposition to shake off any possible or real threats, as also a deep strategy to keep the Modi government off balance, a job easier said than done.
What Rahul Gandhi needs in abundance is patience, perseverance and a powerful team of advisers from the Opposition ranks that would help to have a competitive advantage over those in power, who have the confrontationist streak to the core.
The Opposition needs to realise that the Modi-Shah duo have politics on their mind 24x7 and therefore it is necessary to understand their psyche.
So, Mr Gandhi would need a strategy all the more to take the battle to the BJP turf as an impatient Modi will do everything possible to become his own man by securing a majority.
Rahul Gandhi will have too much on his platter as he navigates the Opposition ship in choppy waters. Those in authority are past masters in the game of divide and rule and in no time they will use their tricks to break/split the non-BJP parties with the precision of a skilled surgeon. Resources are not a problem.
The “Gujarat model” to subjugate the Opposition will be in force in much greater vigour, but subtly and silently and it will be a minefield all around for those minding the Opposition flock.
One good thing is that Mr Gandhi has seen it all. Those who to a certain extent read right the inscrutable mind of Mr Modi feel that he is most uncomfortable with Rahul Gandhi and his unusual ways. The Bharat Jodo Yatra and its sequel must have stunned Mr Modi, who has publicly sought to ignore the novel outreach.
It is not for nothing that the “Pappu” campaign was launched long ago and was carried forward with great gusto by the faithful. The design was obvious. Demoralise your opponent to such an extent so that he does not turn deadly.
Interestingly, Mr Modi is showing that he might be heading a coalition, but still he is the same old “strong” leader. The words “accommodation” and “adjustment” do not exist in his dictionary.
It will be a half battle won for Mr Gandhi when the treasury benches felt that Mr Modi, dubbed by them as a strong leader, was facing difficulties in dealing with the Leader of the Opposition, with a never-say-die spirit.
These are early days. But the fact is that Mr Modi cannot take things for granted as in the past. The Opposition is sizing up the PM and will call him to account sooner than later. In the new Lok Sabha, he will have to show that he is a good parliamentarian, from answering questions in the Question Hour to helping his ministers to put up a good show. It is not enough to be just a good orator and be pleased with the chants hailing him. The times have changed.
The vigorous Opposition will be there to make him uneasy in every way. A political commentator put it best: The Prime Minister will be the most uncomfortable man in the new Lok Sabha.
