Editorial - A test for dynastic politics

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India’s ruling Congress Party appears to be in a dilemma. It was announced that though Rahul Gandhi would lead the campaign for Congress in the national elections he would not be the Prime Ministerial candidate.  Though the senior leaders of the party wish to push Rahul to the front, banking on the popularity of the Gandhi family name, at the same time they want to shield him from failure as opinion polls clearly suggest that Congress is likely to lose the Lok Sabha elections going to be held in May. Since Rahul has been identified as the future of the Congress Party, they know that an early failure is catastrophic. At the same time they seem to be scared of being criticised for practising dynastic politics as Rahul is the fourth generation representation of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

However, it is clear that the Congress Party needs a strong and charismatic leader to be declared as their Prime Ministerial candidate as the 10 years of Congress Party ruling in India is marred with lower economic growth, widened disparity, high-profile corruption scandals and distraught foreign policy. According to Indian media reports, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Vice-President of the Congress Party led by his mother Sonia Gandhi, is gaining confidence and was reported to have told the media that he was ready to take up any responsibility bestowed upon him by the party. During the last few weeks, Indian media reported that Rahul had been trying to emerge as a crusader against corruption.

"Given the dire straits the Indian economy is currently in, many tend to think that business-friendly Modi is better suited to run India. At the same time the inexperienced and new Aam Admi Party whose anticorruption platform is rapidly gaining support, is marking the prospects for a Congress Party bleaker"

On top of the dilemma faced by the Congress Party whether to nominate Rahul Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate, they are facing a very formidable enemy in the form of Narendra Modi, the Prime Ministerial candidate of the  BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Though he is describedas a Hindu nationalist, his economic policies as the Chief Minister of Gujarat have brought in many praises. Given the dire straits the Indian economy is currently in, many tend to think that business-friendly Modi is better suited to run India. At the same time the inexperienced and new Aam Admi Party whose anticorruption platform is rapidly gaining support, is marking the prospects for a Congress Party bleaker.
As the events unfold, the coming few months would be testing times for the young Rahul Gandhi-led Congress Party and India’s dynastic politics.