India will today count on its future after counting the votes its people polled in the recently held general elections. Most of the exit polls indicated a clear majority and second term for the present ruling government. With that, several people started targeting the Indian National Congress party and its leader.
Targeting went on to the extent that, a wise man uttered that the Congress should die now. I felt this was sickening and low of the person to have used such language. We know the Congress has always been there, is there and will be there, safeguarding the idea of India put forth by our forefathers and freedom fighters. People reject this idea in the elections when the party does not perform well, which is usual of democracy. In fact, Rahul Gandhi is clear about this, post the debacle of 2014. He agrees the party lost due to its arrogance.
After taking over as the Congress party’s president, Rahul has clearly iterated that he wanted himself and his party to be a reflection of the people’s voice, which he has proved in all this time. Rahul has become a symbol of pro-common people and pro-poor in the country now. He has constantly voiced the concerns of farmers, youth, traders and all other sections of the society on every platform available to him. Not only that, Rahul has clearly expressed his leadership skills in the elections he fought after taking over party affairs.
He established his record by opening the accounts of Congress in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Then, when no one was able to speak about the failures of the present government and the PM, it was only the Congress and its leader who surrounded the PM on various serious issues in front of the country. This was when the rest of the opposition joined in to question the government of the day on issues like Rafale.
It was very clever of Rahul to have built on the Chowkidar campaign, the ripple effect of which was seen when the ruling party and its followers prefixed their names with a ‘chowkidar’ tag all over social media. I wonder now will that tag remain forever ?
If someone removes it in the future, does that mean they do not care about the country anymore? It seems the tag is here to stay.
When people questioned Rahul on the alliances he made, he did not bow down to any of them and took a firm stand. He has made his choices clear in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. and has tested them in this election. Let us see what the exact polls have in store.
The Congress’ manifesto was revolutionary this time, with the promise of Nyuntam Aay Yojana. Rahul’s campaign brought a calming effect to my mind. Indeed, he stood up to to his words by choosing not to spread negativity and false propaganda. Elections are supposed to be a democratic festival, with active participation by the aware citizens. The ruling party did try to divert the questions, but the opposition and Congress, I believe were successful in grounding the PM and his government on ground issues.
I do not know what the outcome of this general election will be. But, I can definitely say that the nation has found a new mass leader, Rahul Gandhi, who is humble, patient, real, pro-poor, pro-marginalised and is a symbol of voice of this country. Rahul did not cower down to his trolls, or to the abuses and defeats he faced. Rahul and the Congress under Rahul is here to stay and fight for the people, whatever the result may be on May 23.