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‘Inept’ no more? India’s rejuvenated Rahul Gandhi gears up to take on PM Modi in 2024 election

  • Gandhi’s cross-country march contributed to the Congress party’s resounding majority secured in Karnataka polls last month, say analysts
  • Even as he battles a criminal conviction in a defamation case in Indian courts, Gandhi now has ‘greater ideological clarity to reinvent himself’

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Rahul Gandhi has often been derided on social media by BJP sympathisers as Pappu – a person who knows little, inept and bumbling. Photo: Reuters
Biman Mukherji
Earlier this month, India’s opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi’s plan to visit the United States around the month’s end was quietly revealed to local media, days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to meet President Joe Biden.
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Heir to India’s most politically influential family, there is nothing unusual about Gandhi’s tour abroad. Though it may have been planned, the timing of the US visit – without taking a break even after Congress edged out the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the key state of Karnataka – has signalled his new vigour to take on Modi.

It could make all the difference in next year’s general election for Congress, which has lost its dominance and given way to the highly charismatic Modi who has led the ruling BJP to victories in two successive parliamentary elections.

Rahul Gandhi is battling a criminal conviction in a defamation case for mocking the Modi surname in Indian courts, for which he has been expelled from India’s lower house of parliament. Photo: EPA-EFE
Rahul Gandhi is battling a criminal conviction in a defamation case for mocking the Modi surname in Indian courts, for which he has been expelled from India’s lower house of parliament. Photo: EPA-EFE
Another BJP win in next year’s general election could push Congress – which has ruled over India for the longest span since independence from Britain in 1967 – to the brink of oblivion. It currently has a less than 10 per cent share of parliamentary seats.

But ever since Gandhi embarked on a cross-country Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) last September to mingle with the public and challenge Hindu nationalist BJP’s “hate-filled politics”, things have slowly started turning around for Congress.

Gandhi’s cross-country march contributed to Congress’ resounding majority win in Karnataka polls last month, analysts say.

“Rahul Gandhi now has greater ideological clarity and that has enabled him to reinvent himself,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of the book Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times. “This has made BJP uncomfortable and unsure of whether he will be an electoral force that can damage its chances in 2024.”

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