Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has come of age! As he is preparing himself to be anointed as party chief anytime now, he is showing the true colours of a politician. Surprisingly, he is honing his skills in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is what is called taking the bull by the horns. And, his party brass and admirers are quite impressed by his performance during his four-day whirlwind tour of poll-bound Gujarat.
A determined Congress led by Rahul Gandhi wants to storm Modi’s bastion that has been in BJP hands for over two decades and it is going the whole hog to clinch victory. Rahul has moved through north Gujarat like a veteran during his four-day trip that started last Saturday.
Besides meeting all those who oppose BJP ‘hegemony,’ Rahul interacted with ordinary people, including chaiwallahs, and shared their food and concerns to present self as one among them.
But the biggest surprise he sprang is a spree of visits to various temples across Gujarat. For instance, he kicked off his four-day Navsarjan Yatra in north Gujarat last Saturday only after visiting Aksharadham temple. Since then, literally, he had been on a temple run, visiting shrines, attending Aarti sessions and offering prayers, presumably for Congress success.
In fact, Rahul has made it a point to visit local temples on his Gujarat campaign trail, triggering backlash from the saffron party that he is doing all this to woo Hindu vote.
But his declaration on Monday after having a darshan of Veer Meghmaya in Patan that “I am a devotee of Lord Shiva” is a revelation. In an apparent rebuttal of BJP criticism of his new found devotion to Hindu deities, Rahul said, “Let them say whatever they want to say. My truth is with me.”
Rahul has never publicly acknowledged that he is staunch believer of Hindu Gods, let alone Shiva. By pronouncing his faith in Lord Shiva, is Gandhi-Nehru scion trying to seek divine blessings for Congress success in Gujarat or is it a mere poll gimmick every political leader resorts to before the elections?
