From shop floor to management

BY Darius Nakhoonwala| IN Opinion | 27/09/2007

You don¿t say!

Darius Nakhoonwala

The question was never whether but when Rahul Gandhi would be appointed as a general secretary of the Congress party. It is like the young scion of a business family coming to work in the management after a brief stint at the shop floor.

Leader writers were, most surprisingly, very kind and not at all scornful, never mind that the decision had been taken the day Rahul was born about 38 years ago. The Hindu put an interesting perspective on the appointment. "The moment Sonia Gandhi… agreed to become president of the Congress in 1998, it became clear that the attempt to find a leadership outside India¿s best-known political family had collapsed." Ergo, it would have to be given up forever.

The Hindu even accused the BJP of ¿sniggering¿ at dynastic rule as if the rest of the country is not sniggering. After all, as the Business Standard put it – the paper writes better editorials on politics than on economics – "The problem for the Congress is that the Gandhi name works better with the party faithful than with the voter." Quite right.   It went on to put is finger on the key issue that the party faces, Rahul or no Rahul. "The party has virtually no organisational base in half a dozen states that contribute 40 per cent of Lok Sabha seats. It is an impossible task to build a new base in places like UP, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, not to mention Gujarat and West Bengal, in time for the next elections."

The Indian Express, which is increasingly veering towards a retirement age of 10 for all, said "one of the more striking elements of the Congress… has been its over-reliance on age… an array of young and articulate men and women are biding their time, arguably many more in the Congress than in other mainstream political parties."

That broadside fired, it turned its attention to the matter at hand, Rahul Gandhi, who it said, coining a new word, "emblemises generation next in the Congress… the young MP… has come to be seen as the front ranker in a potentially dynamic class that is still not being allowed to prove itself, earn its political spurs, bring in a fresh political idea or two."

 The Times of India was the only one to point out that the practice of appointing or otherwise bringing the next generation into the family business was not confined to the Congress. "The induction of young MPs in organisational posts, most of them with political lineage, will give the party a youthful look…Family matters a lot in Congress. The Gandhi family brand has over the years outstripped the Congress brand. Arguably, the dynasty has high brand recall value in traditional Congress strongholds and party leaders seem to recognise and accept this. But, even the best family-owned brands push their products, not themselves, in the market. Congress itself has lost brand value even as the family brand has taken over." Good point, and well made too.

The Pioneer surprisingly did not do its familiar micturition trick. Instead, it asked some sensible questions such as whether " Mr Gandhi will add to the menu it will offer the voter… The Congress can also be expected to posit Mr Gandhi against the BJP¿s considerably elderly leadership. In the middle India, urban/ small town constituency that the Congress and the BJP share and compete for, Mr Gandhi¿s freshness could prove to be an important calling card."

Finally, sometimes, it is interesting also to see who all kept quiet when they ought to have spoken. Both the Asian Age and the Telegraph did not comment either on Tuesday or on Wednesday. Why, I wonder.