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Challenges for Rahul: Revamping party set-up, electoral battles before 2019 polls (Profile)
New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Rahul Gandhi’s long-delayed elevation as party chief is almost over as he was on Monday elected Congress President at a time when the party is facing an “existential crisis”. His main challenge remains the revamping of party organisation, apart from electoral battles in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Gandhi will formally take over the reins of the grand old party on December 16, two days before the counting of votes for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the outcome of which could be a trendsetter ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Gandhi, 47, who would take over from his mother Sonia Gandhi who had helmed the country’s oldest party for 19 long years, will be the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to take the top position of the 132-year-old party.
The outcome of the Gujarat polls would be interpreted in terms of Rahul Gandhi’s ability as a “campaigner and vote-getter”.
The next round of assembly polls in 2018 — first in Karnataka and later in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — will be very crucial for Gandhi in order to build the momentum to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha polls.
The state elections, with Bharatiya Janata Party as the key rival, will also be the first major polls directly under Rahul Gandhi’s charge as party chief. Assembly polls will also be held early next year in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
The challenges for Rahul Gandhi include infusing fresh energy and life in Congress workers and evolving a proper strategy to galvanise the party, following a string of electoral losses since the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle.
Gandhi has to be decisive on forging a larger opposition alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls under a “collective leadership” or even projecting himself as the alternative to Modi with the support of different parties.
Gandhi has always been perceived as a reluctant politician due to some of his longish trips abroad, which delayed his stepping into the role of party chief.
His action not to take up ministerial responsibility in two UPA governments and not properly following through some of the issues he raised drew strong criticism.
He has been able to counter those perceptions to some extent with his sharp and aggressive attacks on Modi and the BJP. His recent trip to the United States, where he held interactions with think tanks, has brought about a sea change to his overall image.
In Gujarat, where success will be a big morale-booster for the Congress, Gandhi has sought to create a broad social coalition and has forced Modi to react.
Reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh is going to be another major challenge for Rahul Gandhi — the state that sends the largest contingent of 80 members to the Lok Sabha.
The results of the local body polls in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Lok Sabha constituencies of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi respectively, have not given a fillip to Rahul Gandhi’s image.
Rahul Gandhi had been projected as a young leader who understands the language and pulse of the youth but Modi has been more successful in weaning away the section that has large electoral presence. The Congress also has to devise ways to woo the large middle class.
He needs to act smartly in his dealings with allies and other opposition parties, including the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Within the party, Gandhi has to take several decisions, including whether to project chief ministerial candidates in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and who they are going to be.
To bring about unity in faction-ridden state units and striking the right the balance between the “old guard” and the younger aspirants will be his other challenges.
The Congress is ruling now in five states and a union territory only and a loss in Gujarat as well as in Karnataka next year will further put a squeeze on its chances of staging a comeback at the Centre in 2019.
Gandhi, who is into his third term as Lok Sabha MP, was made Congress Vice President in 2013 as a stepping stone to his eventual elevation to the top party post.
Since 2004, Rahul Gandhi has been the Lok Sabha member from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. In 2007, he was named Congress General Secretary in charge of youth and student wings of the party.
He has attended St Stephen’s College, Delhi, Harvard College and Rollins College, Florida, from where he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Arts.
He received an M. Phil in Development Studies from Trinity College, Cambridge University. Thereafter, he joined the Monitor Group, a strategy consulting group, in London, where he worked for three years.
–IANS
sid-ps/tsb
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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