Different moods of Rahul Gandhi, the new boss of Congress

New Delhi: The way Rahul Gandhi forced Manmohan Singh and his cabinet to withdraw the ordinance on convicted MPs and MLAs, makes it abundantly clear that he has finally arrived on the horizon as the new boss of Congress party.It's not that Rahul Gandhi got enlightened about the pitfalls of the ordinance that had raised huge public outcry. Nobody can believe that Rahul, Congress party's undeclared PM candidate for 2014 polls, was not aware of a decision that had been approved by the Congress core committee that included no less than Congress President Sonia Gandhi herself.It was very clear that Rahul's outburst against the ordinance was a calculated move on part of his advisors, who represent the generational shift in the Congress, to convert a credibility crisis into an electoral opportunity.It was an attempt to present Rahul in next elections as a no-nonsense leader with a clean image. The move was aimed at sending clear signals to the electorate that Rahul carries no baggage of the past and that he should not be held responsible for whatever mistakes that the Congress government may have committed in last 9 years of UPA rule. Whether this calculated political move will pay rich dividends in upcoming elections or not remains to be seen but without any doubt Rahul has done irreparable damage to the personal standing of Manmohan Singh both inside as well as outside of India.Contrast this with numerous public speeches of Rahul where he emphasized on practicing dignified politics. He always advocated in favour of playing the game by the rule. And no rule of political science teaches you to humiliate your own Prime Minister who is more than willing to vacate the hot seat if the scion so desires. The next big question is his – for how long will Rahul Gandhi consider himself a trainee politician? Does he want to be on probation on a permanent basis? Is he afraid of failure? Is it not the time for him to come out in open and take the challenging task of ruling a country as vast as India? This ‘Shoot and scoot ‘policy of Rahul that he displayed at ‘ Press Club of India' does not match with all the goody-goody speeches that he has made over a period of time in last few years. Rahul plunged into mainstream politics in 2004 from Amethi constituency, the party's bailiwick. Every new boss has his own style and Rahul is no exception but he urgently needs to recalibrate his strategy over how to conduct himself publicly. He should learn to play the game by the rule.In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul once again emerged as the face of Congress party. He addressed 125 rallies all over the country in just six weeks.His party performed well from UP this tim.Let's have a look at different moods of Rahul Gandhi over a period of time: