If Rahul Gandhi has to
stage a comeback he needs to transform his political persona and style of
politics.
If he has to stage a comeback, he
needs to begin with his political persona first as the recently held
parliamentary polls were a decisive mandate against him in Narendra Modi Vs
Rahul Gandhi fight.
He needs to change how he looks
and sounds politically. He needs to work on the primary level of his
communication interface first, being direct and responsive.
The way he looks: Rahul Gandhi
should start wearing more of jeans, T-shirts and other casual stuff that most
of the people put on in day-to-day life - seriously. Attire does affect our
long term thinking and as we are fed up of the ‘Khadi stuff’ and the
politicization of its appeal, Rahul’s that look will appeal more.
Politicians have become
synonymous with many, many negative things and the ‘Neta style Khadi attire’
has become synonymous with this lot of politicians. Rahul has failed to connect
with the masses including the Young India and a change of attire and a
‘daily/regular approach agenda’ would be a refreshing start.
Visibility: The next important
thing that he needs to do is to have a constant visibility in Indian media, in
social media and in public. It may or may not involve talking and doing politics
always. He needs to look socially visible when he begins again.
Being a dynast helped him
initiate and reach the top of the Congress party with Rahul becoming its de
facto head and the de facto prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha
polls but, the after the humiliating defeat he and his party had, he needs to
earn his position now. He needs to cut short on his regular foreign holidays.
Reports say he is still on a holiday out of India.
Some good reading: The third
thing he needs is to read and read deeply – what India has been – what India is
– and what India is to become and what India can become.
He needs this to compensate for
his weak oratory when compared with Narendra Modi (believing in the outlook
that he is going to represent the Congress party’s fight in the 2019 LS polls
fight). Yes, Modi had many gaffes in his speeches during the campaigning, but
he efficiently shadowed such shortcomings with his effective oratory and
contextualized speeches. Rahul’s oratory was not at all effective and his
speeches lacked context customization and substance.
This is first set of
possibilities Rahul Gandhi may look at to explore if he is eyeing comeback to
rule the national stage of Indian politics in future.