PXylem

By Pranati Saikia, NEW DELHI,INDIA

At a time when left’s tough stand on nuclear deal is creating political havoc for center’s UPA government, congress president Sonia Gandhi took a decisive step in latest reshuffle of the party’s organization. However, this assessed to be a preparation for looming mid-term polls.

In this much-awaited reshuffle, she elevated her son, Rahul Gandhi to a congress post by appointing him as the AICC general secretary in charge of the Youth Congress and NSUI and member of the congress working committee. This significant development has an important implication for both, 37 year old Rahul’s future prospects as a politician and the congress as party as well.

In his first interview with foreign media, Rahul regarded himself as uniter of the country and expressed his commitment to fight against divisive politics based on caste and religion. His recent induction into the organization of the party is an opportunity for him to groom his lacklustre image into a sharp, refined national level congress leader who can not win just electoral victory but also a nation’s trust.

His induction also signifies that the old congress party, though lately has started believing on the potential of younger generation leaders who have power of youth, freshness of ideals and strong ambitions. Rahul seems to represent a generation that could bring back remarkable political achievements to the party.

Nevertheless, it is indispensable for Rahul to emerge as a young leader having own individual stature of goodwill and strength. He has to transcend the boundary of inherited political legacy.

On the other hand, congress has to retrieve back its initial position of being India’s single most dominant political party that laid the foundation of the democratic political system in the developing world. During country’s freedom struggle, it represented nationalist cause to unite a heterogeneous society of people.

It is regretful that now party has lost its idealism and innovation. Gradually due to dissidence and defection, it lost its intra-party democracy and cohesion. These loopholes have to be dealt with mellowness. Induction of Rahul Gandhi could be regarded as renovation of party’s organization in a sense that it could help overcoming old deficiencies and generating new constituencies having new voters below 30 and appreciate Rahul as a young national leader to represent them, their aspirations wishes.

On the other hand, party has to extend its organization across the whole nation and down to the village level. For this purpose, Rahul has to work extensively with sincerity by visiting remote areas too, where people have lot of problems unsolved. Is Rahul Gandhi hearing?