Has Rahul Gandhi Lost His Charisma?

Guha further says “The crises of the Congress, in party and in government, are connected to the declining charisma of its first family.”

The news paper headlines after the announcement of UP elections shows how the people looked at the impact that Rahul Gandhi was expected to make in the elections. The central attraction of most news headlines was the losing charm of Rahul. Newspapers wrote, “Limits of charisma show in family fief”, “Gandhi charisma fails in family bastions”, “Rahul Gandhi‘s charisma fails in Uttar Pradesh.”

The recent election can’t be just seen as a failure of strategy or ideas by the party but all look at it as a failure of a personality. The image of members in the Gandhi family has been a prime icon for congress.  The election raised questions on whether the influence of Gandhi family has weakened.

“The campaign was always about how great he (Rahul Gandhi) is, his personal charisma. It was a personal demonstration – he flogged himself across 230 constituencies and addressed public rallies. The Congress has been doing this, focusing on one person, since Indira Gandhi, but it works only in extraordinary situations like emergency, a war or financial crisis,” political scientist Dipankar Gupta commented on the election results, as reported by the Economic Times.