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Congress’s vote theft campaign faces questions over public appeal, Opposition unity and leadership strategy ahead of crucial elections.
The true test of the street-level politics adopted by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, will come during the upcoming elections in five states. The political activities the siblings undertook on the streets of Delhi last week over alleged vote theft made a few things clear. First, they appeared to be engaging in politics aimed at securing media coverage, prioritising staying in the headlines by any means necessary over maintaining decorum. Priyanka appeared to overshadow her brother Rahul in this regard. She employed tactics once used by lower-ranking leaders to gain prominence, such as lying down on the road, clashing with the police and taking selfies while forcibly boarding a bus. While Rahul Gandhi appeared to be pursuing a more serious brand of politics, he too was seen getting caught up in the scuffles alongside his sister. Consequently, other leaders held back, as Priyanka was already playing that role.
This style of politics adopted by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress also exposed visible rifts within the INDIA bloc. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and senior leaders of his party distanced themselves from the move. Akhilesh is aware that the issue could prove detrimental in the five states, including Uttar Pradesh. The Aam Aadmi Party and the DMK had already parted ways, while Uddhav Thackeray and his party also maintained their distance. From Sharad Pawar’s party, it was his daughter, Supriya Sule, who appeared when the memorandum was submitted to the President. The RJD, TMC and Left parties were also present during the submission.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks after meeting President Droupadi Murmu were also surprising. He claimed that the President, while remaining silent, acknowledged that vote theft occurs and asked for evidence. This suggests that Rahul Gandhi will now set about gathering proof.
Rahul Gandhi’s political approach appears confusing. For the past three months, he has been engaged in grassroots activism, taking to the streets, and has not travelled abroad during this period. Party leaders and workers hope he will limit his foreign trips in the future, recalling how he went abroad during the ‘paper leak’ protests. In his absence, the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ (CJP) emerged and claimed much of the credit for that movement. Upon his return, Rahul shifted his focus to the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Voice of Students) programme.
Suddenly, citing a report in an English newspaper, Rahul Gandhi launched a campaign alleging vote theft. However, the Congress’s agitation does not appear to be having a significant impact on the general public. Instead, people are expressing surprise at Priyanka’s actions. Within Congress circles, there is talk that Priyanka is engaging in immature politics and creating difficulties for her brother Rahul, as her actions are also affecting his image.
The Congress is failing to make an impact through its agitations because the general public understands that if elections could be won by stealing votes, the BJP would have secured 400 seats in the 2024 general election, and Opposition governments would not exist in states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
Rahul Gandhi raised the Rafale issue in 2019, even though party leaders had advised him that the issue lacked substance. They pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was immensely popular following the air strikes and surgical strikes and urged Rahul to avoid slogans such as “Chowkidar Chor” (Watchman is a thief). Rahul did not heed this advice. When the party suffered a crushing defeat, he blamed his own leaders and shifted the onus onto Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).