Rahul earns his spurs, emerging as effective campaigner, strategist

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ It was a year Congress President Rahul Gandhi came into his own as a campaigner and strategist, emerging as a powerful voice in the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also earned his electoral spurs in tough Hindi heartland battles, helping his party win three states that will have ramifications in the Lok Sabha elections a few months away.

Rahul Gandhi began the year as Congress President, having taken over the post from his mother Sonia Gandhi last December at the culmination of party’s organisational elections. The path was full of challenges as barring Karnataka — where it is the junior partner in the ruling colaition — the Congress was virtually starved of electoral victories since its Lok Sabha debacle in 2014. It had also not beaten the BJP in a straight contest anywhere in four years.

Gandhi went about the task methodically by identifying weaknesses and bridging gaps. He sought to beat Modi at his own game by expanding social media outreach and connecting with the audiences through witty, hard-hitting tweets and posts. Gandhi consistently attacked Modi on issues linked to the common man — corruption, unemployment, farmers distress, demonetisation, price rise — and stepped up his efforts to portray the BJP leader as a “friend of the rich”.