Rahul’s moment.

Prediction: By the time Rahul Gandhi finishes his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he will have emerged as the only alternative to Modi in the eyes of those sitting on the fence doubting him today.

In the minds of those that have already known this (like me), he will only be raised higher.

In short, he will shine brighter in the eyes of those who were awake and open the eyes of those who were genuinely asleep to reality.

Of course, those that are pretending to sleep or are blinded by hate will be impossible to shake. But then, this country always had its short-term thinkers who couldn’t think beyond their self-interest and immediate selfish needs and have contributed to the destruction of their own nation. The Jayachands and Mir Jafars, the Godses and Ambhis, the Choksis and Jagat Seths. They’ve been, and continue to be all around us. It is time to recognise them for the anti-nationals they are.

That said, this is Rahul’s moment. Even without this Yatra, and without any official position in the party, with all the mocking and PR effort put in not just by the self-confessedly largest (and possibly richest) political party in the world, but also some of his own people, he could not be ignored, dismissed, removed, made irrelevant, or put away (in spite of every effort made by his opponents for the past 18 years, since 2004, when he entered active politics).

Whether this means that the INC will win subsequent elections or whether his MLAs and MPs can resist offers and threats in the future or whether, even if INC wins, he will be able to run the administration of this country efficiently is immaterial at this point. In any case, he is not looking to convince us of any of that.

What this surely means is that he would have, if he plays this right, cemented his place in our hearts. And that is what I believe his objective is. The rest are potential byproducts of this. What he is aiming for is creating hope, reigniting a sense of lost fraternity, and healing injured minds. In return, what he will get is love. And hate.

Except that he’s used to the hate. He just does not want us, his compatriots and fellow Indians, to get used to it and presume that this is how things are or will always be. And in it, lies his value. To us. To this society. To this nation. And I daresay, to this world.

tl;dr

History will be far kinder to Rahul Gandhi than the best of his supporters think. And far harsher to Narendra Modi than the worst of his detractors hope.

Caveat: He has to complete the Yatra though. If he’s discouraged, dissuaded, falls ill, gives up, or abandons it in any way, my prediction will not hold. He will, of course, be arrested & detained at some point under the pretext of blocking roads or creating unrest or not having permission for this or the other, or whatever, but how he reacts to it and what he does while in custody and once he is out (hopefully, continues the Yatra) will be key. Hope he chooses well. As he has till the point this goes to print.

P.S: I fear for him. And hope nothing untoward happens to him. I am guessing that I am not alone in this. I believe that I share this emotion with Amit Shah, who knows all too well what will happen to them (and him) if Rahul Gandhi is harmed or killed in the process of this Yatra. So, I guess he’ll be all right.