— The golden boy of Indian politics may be losing some of his sheen.
Rahul Gandhi — the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Indian prime ministers — has spent years positioning himself to seize what is almost seen as his birthright and take charge of the country.
But a series of electoral setbacks, an embarrassing Wikileaks revelation and his accusation, without proof, that police killed and raped protesting farmers in an opposition-led state has left some questioning whether Gandhi has the skill, experience or discipline to lead India.
A newspaper editorial titled “Rahul in Blunderland,” depicted Gandhi as a political amateur stumbling from gaffe to gaffe, while party leaders follow behind him trying to repair the damage. Political opponents have begun calling him “the former future prime minister.” A stalwart of his Congress party called for his sister, Priyanka, to jump back into politics to help rescue the family’s legacy.
“He’s been under immense pressure,” said Aarthi Ramachandran, who is writing a book on Gandhi. “There has been a sense that the Rahul Gandhi brand of politics is not going anywhere.”
Gandhi, who bears no relation to peace icon Mohandas K. Gandhi, grew up as the fawned-over heir to India’s version of the British monarchy or America’s Kennedy dynasty.
The family patriarch was Jawaharlal Nehru, a hero of the struggle for independence from British rule who became India’s first prime minister.
Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, later took power, followed by her son Rajiv. Both were killed in political assassinations. Rajiv’s Italian-born widow, Sonia, then took over the Congress party, becoming India’s most powerful politician and setting the stage for her son to eventually take up the family mantle.
When Congress won the 2004 election, she gave the prime minister’s post to Manmohan Singh, a respected economist of limited political ambitions. He steered the country to record growth, but since his 2009 re-election, Singh has been seen as more of a regent, running the country while Rahul Gandhi gained the experience and stature to assume command.
Earlier this month, Gandhi shook off most of his security detail, hopped on the back of a motorcycle and rode out to join a farmers’ protest over land rights in the opposition-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh, which has an election next year. The maneuver cast him as a man of the people and brought national attention to the protests against the state’s chief minister, a political rival. He even managed to get himself briefly arrested, a rite of passage for Indian political leaders.
