Rahul Gandhi, the deciding factor.

Was he or was he not? A lot of news channels and the press attributed the success of congress and the UPA in the General Elections to Rahul Gandhi. Was he really a factor to reckon with? Or was it just an exercise by the Congress committee and the Press, to take him to the next political level?

Either way, there is little doubt that he would be the next prime ministerial candidate for Congress. Mr Manmohan Singh had made that notion clear a few days back. He wanted to hand over power to the younger generation while he was still in office. So there are very high chances that we could see Mr Gandhi gracing the PM chair within the next 5 years.

The fact that he wooed the younger generation to vote for Congress could have worked to some extent. But, in my opinion he doesn’t deserve the current degree of accolades. There were other factors as well which made the UPA sweep the 2009 General Elections. It could be because of Mr Manmohan Singh, the allies or even the hatred against the NDA. I believe the NDA spoiled their chances of winning by talking more about Narendra Modi, Ram Temple and Saffron art. On the contrary, the UPA projected itself as a Secular force, which truly is not (I don’t get the difference between a Communal and a Secular force in Politics. The five years under AB Vajpayee did not see any major communal clashes). It helped them a little to win.

Though there could have been support for Mr Gandhi from the first time voters, a large chunk of population still valued Sonia Gandhi as their leader. It was in the north that the Rahul Gandhi vibes were felt. There was scarcely any support for him from the South. Nonetheless, at least through the hype of media, people would come to know the importance of youth power in governing India. I certainly believe that young leaders, irrespective of the parties they belong to, would do immense good to make the country a better place to live in.