Rahul's seeming reluctance to be a proactive political player was another minus point. His attendance at parliament was irregular and he tended to disappear from sight for prolonged periods, even at crucial junctures as during the Delhi gang rape case in December 2012.
His reticence was also a negative feature. Apart from one-liners like being a foot soldier of Odisha's Niyamgiri tribals or his disinclination to be prime minister - "asking whether you want to be prime minister is asking me the wrong question" - he has not given any views on any weighty topic, whether economic or social, thereby fuelling the suspicion that he may not have any views at all.
But all this coyness was before the Dec 8 declaration of the shocking results for the Congress. Since then, he has not only virtually threatened to shake up the Congress in ways "you cannot even imagine", he has been uncharacteristically vocal and active on a number of topics. These have varied from gay rights or the Lokpal bill to the refusal to meet an American congressional delegation following the ill-treatment of an Indian diplomat in the US.
He has also appeared at a press conference - perhaps for the first time - on the Lokpal bill along with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Law Minister Kapil Sibal. This was, however, a sanitized affair restricted to only one subject, as when he tore up a copy of the ordinance on protecting convicted legislators at the Delhi Press Club.
Rahul is yet to attend, however, a wide-ranging press conference where he will have to face a variety of questions. Nor has he ever attended a tough question-and-answer session on the lines of the BBC's Hard Talk programme. Neither has his mother. It is possible, however, that this cloistered existence of the first family will be coming to an end because of the impact of the poll results, which have stressed the point that the ruling dynasts cannot continue to pull string from behind.
