IYC passes resolution to make Rahul Gandhi Congress President again
Can the designation of party president improve Rahul Gandhi’s image as a strong opposition leader against Modi? His social media image is constantly hampered by his regular detrimental Twitter trends.
Indian Youth Congress has passed a resolution for making Rahul Gandhi party president again. The resolution was passed unanimously at the two-day Indian Youth Congress (IYC) national executive meeting in Goa.
IYC president Srinivas BV has said that Gandhi will become national party president again, for which a resolution was passed unanimously.
IYC statement quoted AICC Joint Secretary and National Incharge of Indian Youth Congress Krishna Allavaru saying, “Every single worker of Indian Youth Congress will fight against this dictatorial government in the coming days, and will work to take the ideology of Congress party and the message of Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji to the people of the country.”
But can the designation of party president improve his image as a strong opposition leader against Modi?
Rahul Gandhi: justified yet loathed
Since the 2014 election in India, Modi’s ‘Pappu’ acronym (Hindi word for Idiot) for Gandhi is well received in urban households. Since then, everything Gandhi does is countered with ‘Pappu’ punches.
Rahul Gandhi’s credible and justifiable criticism against the government on acquiring Rafale Jet from France has led the French government to reveal that one million Euros was paid to the Indian middleman.
Even during the Hathras incident, he had decried government policies of silencing media and journalists. He is active and vocal about the rising petrol and LPG prices. But that particular acronym will never leave his shadow.
During his election rallies, he rarely launched personal attacks against the opposition. But all of his justified and credible jabs to the opposition are met with ‘helpless politician’ attacks. The primary reason for this is his secluded world. It is said in the Congress barracks that Rahul Gandhi’s heart is at the right place but he needs to get his hands dirty. His inner world shields him from street politics. Probably, Gandhi’s recent protest in the Parliament was his introduction to street politics. His voice should resonate with the common Indian man. Despite Modi’s failure, Gandhi could not rise as an alternative.
Rahul Gandhi gets facts wrong yet again
Wayanad MP has tweeted a picture of a farmer protesting in Haryana, which was later, found to be an old photo. The photo shows farmers protesting in UP against the farmer’s bill in early 2021. This is not the first time. Such social media faux pass is also detrimental to his image of strong political opposition against Modi.
One cannot forget that social media is a new and the most effective weapon for political campaigns. He was also caught in the social media fire when he posted the rape victim’s family name on Twitter. Regular detrimental Twitter trends have made Gandhi an easy target of stand-up comedians and college students.
Sometimes Modi also repeats his speeches or lines, but his strong image and social media persona does not allow anyone to take a jab at him. For example, Modi mentioned about ‘Gatidhara Scheme’ during his Independence Day speech. He has been talking about this scheme every year without proper implementation. Except for a few mainstream media houses, nobody talked about it. Social media was silent about it.
A reason for this detrimental social media trend is that Rahul has faulted to present a strong image of burning political issues. During the Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi against CAA, he did not even visit the place. Had it been Mamata Banerjee, she would have spearheaded the Shaheen Bagh protest. Rahul must understand that in politics, politicians need to make noise and blow trumpets.
