Tavleen Singh writes: Charisma’s fading lustre

In Priyanka’s posts of her speeches, I announcement that she astir ne'er fails to notation her grandma and family. In her brother’s posts of his speeches and his meetings with the ‘common man’, I find myself wondering if helium is trying to amended himself oregon assistance them. When helium expresses his economical ideas, I find them reminiscent of those decades of the License Raj and 97% taxation for the rich, and I americium flooded with déjà vu. I retrieve good that removing poorness (garibi hatao) was Indira Gandhi’s main economical idea, but implementing this arsenic argumentation was confused, clumsy, costly and ineffectual. This truthful infuriated her son, Sanjay, that during the Emergency, helium removed arsenic galore mediocre radical from Delhi arsenic helium could and ‘resettled’ them successful a wasteland connected the different broadside of the Yamuna River.

Polls and communal consciousness bespeak that Priyanka Gandhi is definite to go the MP from Wayanad. It is simply a spot that the Congress Party has ne'er lost, truthful it would instrumentality an unexpected calamity for her to suffer contempt her ain charisma and her household name. What I americium personally nary longer definite of is whether the Gandhi sanction inactive has the quality it erstwhile had to guarantee that the Congress Party kept winning elections.

In a speech I erstwhile had with Atal Bihari Vajpayee soon aft Sonia Gandhi became president of the Congress Party, I asked if she, who astatine that clip spoke nary Hindi, could triumph an election. He said that the Nehru-Gandhi sanction had truthful overmuch powerfulness that she could astir apt triumph anyplace successful India without speaking immoderate Indian language. He was right.

It is my considered sentiment that the family’s vaunted charisma faded agelong ago, oregon Narendra Modi would not person won a afloat bulk twice. Rahul Gandhi has mislaid truthful galore elections successful truthful galore states since 2014 that it is hard to judge that those successful the Congress Party who are superior politicians and not courtiers person not noticed that Indian voters are nary longer swayed by charisma successful the mode they erstwhile utilized to be.

In the Lok Sabha predetermination earlier this year, Modi had the conceit to judge that helium was truthful charismatic a person that helium connected his ain could guarantee that the BJP returned to powerfulness with much than 400 seats. He was truthful bedazzled by his ain charisma that helium went to the grade of declaring that God had sent him to Earth to prevention India. In a state that knows precisely what the connection ‘avatar’ means it did not instrumentality agelong for voters to announcement that helium was going excessively acold and needed to beryllium taught a lesson. So, helium whitethorn person go premier curate for the 3rd clip but arsenic a much-humbled man.

As idiosyncratic who has covered each predetermination since that unthinkable predetermination successful 1977, erstwhile Indira Gandhi and Sanjay mislaid their ain seats, I see myself successful a bully presumption to accidental that I person noticed that 1 large alteration has been the diminution of ‘charisma’. This is wherefore I genuinely consciousness that Priyanka coming to Parliament volition marque small quality to the fortunes of the Congress Party.

What volition marque a quality is erstwhile Congress leaders admit that alternatively of wasting clip paying tribunal and currying favour with the ‘high command’ they should ore connected trying to enlistee those young Indians with a sensation for nationalist beingness and who judge successful the foundational values of Congress. There are signs that voters erstwhile bewitched by Modi’s charisma and by the allure of belligerent religiosity infused with belligerent nationalism person seen done this game.

Priyanka Gandhi’s accomplishment successful Parliament whitethorn not amended the fortunes of the Congress Party, but she volition go entitled to a location successful Lutyens’ Delhi. No tiny happening for galore parliamentarians!