Kolkata: Call him Pappu, he isn’t bothered! The scion of the Gandhi family is unparalleled when it comes to gaffes be it with words or actions…have a look at some of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s major goof-ups. Needless to say, despite not holding any official post in the party, he is the de-facto all in all with his mother and Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi letting Rahul and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, calling the shots.
The SP fiasco
Despite warnings against tie-up with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections, Rahul got carried away by the illusion of a deceptive anti-BJP wave, which boomeranged. The anti-incumbency air against SP was too strong to combat the BJP challenge and the result was detrimental to the Grand Old Party which ended up with only seven seats with the BJP forming the government bagging 312 seats. Poll strategist Prashant Kishor got all his calculations torpedoed.
Flip-flop on AAP alliance
Being indecisive can be a bane and the Congress Party’s dithering on joining hands with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Delhi for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is unpardonable. Though Rahul Gandhi passed the buck to Kejriwal on lack of unanimity over seat arrangements, it was the BJP which was the ultimate gainer making a clean sweep (7 out of 7). The overall disastrous result in the elections saw reasons in Rahul who resigned as party chief.
Bowing to Sidhuism in Punjab
The temperamental and whimsical former cricketer-turned-politician has been too demanding. Reportedly, Navjot Singh Sidhu minced no words on his dislike for the then Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and the Gandhi siblings (Rahul and sister Priyanka) bought his words. Little did they realise before putting him on the state unit chief’s chair, that Sidhu had drawn flak for his overtures towards Pakistan during the opening of the Kartarpur corridor. If actor-producer Salman Khan could replace Sidhu on The Kapil Sharma Show, the Gandhis reposed their faith in the man who is only bringing embarrassments to the party with his inconsistency ahead of the elections next year. The resignation drama might have been settled but knowing Sidhu and his behavioural profligacy, more histrionics are in store.
…and out here we didn’t even delve into Rahul Gandhi’s immature handling of the Jitin Prasada and Chhattisgarh episodes. The list can go on and on…
PC: Google
