Varun Gandhi – Tragedy and Destiny

By Zeyaur Rahman

It is definitely difficult being Varun Gandhi. His lot is like other princes from history who have got the wrong end of the stick and had kingdoms denied to them. The difference is that those were despotic times and we live in an era of democracy. It’s not lineage but the ability to capture and retain public attention that ensures the throne. 1min 36sec clip can have far reaching consequences in terms of defining political image. But it is too small to be definitive and conclusive to outline one’s Weltanschauung. We would love to see him go on and become “Kaam ka Gandhi” as against “Naam ka Gandhi”. This statement is extremely apt because it conclusively proves the fact that he can’t escape being a Gandhi, whether in success or in failure. His surname is a legacy, which he can at best distance from by projecting himself as The Other Gandhi, but can’t sever it from his identity. It would be better for him to reconcile to the fact and focus on how to turn this burden of Atlas to his advantage. The Pilibhit case has caused a lot of damage to brand Varun Gandhi, a brand that has been deliberately undervalued because of the latent threat that it carries within. Probably it was a conscious strategic decision which backfired. The Pilibhit speech is not a case of having his two minutes of fame for he is worth much more than that. But it has catapulted, almost shoved him to the centre of the theatre, a spot that has been denied to him all his life. The drama is getting unfolded around him; the only problem is that the script has lot of negative shades. The challenge for Varun is to retain the spot and modify the script, ever so slowly and gradually that the movement isn’t discernable to the naked eye. Let’s talk in concrete terms. He will have a much better chance of fulfilling his ambition if he redefines his political position. Right now he is pretty much Brian Lara turning out for Kenya – no matter how much he tries, he is not going to win the match. Joining the team in which he should naturally walk into is out of question given the turn of events ever since his father died. Being a Gandhi is a burden and simultaneously his biggest strength. But far right is not a place where one can leverage being a Gandhi. In fact that will turn out to be a millstone around his neck. He has been driven to the right side of the political spectrum just to maintain his relevance in the scheme of things, because any other position will make him irrelevant – something that was unacceptable to his mother, to him and understandably so. In order to achieve the greater goals he will have to compromise on the short term glories. Playing to the ultra right gallery will keep him in news but will ensure that he will remain confined to the fringes of Indian polity. The reason is that India can never have a polity which revolves around the extreme right axis. It has been tilted to the “left of the centre” ever since the nation breathed into life by his great grandfather. Nonetheless this configuration is not going to remain for ever. Within the next 10 years the pendulum will start its swing to the other direction, in his direction and Indian polity will be dominated by “right of the centre” politics till the end of his life span. He needs to ensure that he is there, right in front of the queue when the bandwagon stops to have a change of guard - and probably the driver as well. Moderation is the key. Right now he cannot survive without the infrastructural support of a pan-India party. It is in the interest of this party to keep him away from centre. He has to tenaciously resist and claw back, inch by inch, one step at a time towards the centre. Slowly enough not to upset the equilibrium and make his position untenable, but surely enough it has to be done. The Congress led UPA is going to be around for 5 years. The 2014 elections will bring back Congress and Rahul Gandhi will fail to maintain the halo. Rahul will not fail per se. His stature would have grown so much that even 306 will be perceived to be a failure – a far cry from the success that 206 is today. He will find it impossible to stay away from power and work from the grassroots because his team will push him to the higher echelons, and an eager 70+ alma mater will feign reluctant acceptance. That will be the beginning of the end and the pendulum swing will start its journey. Varun has these two terms to plan his moves and come up trumps. India will yet again start yearning to be relieved of Congress rule and start moving towards the right. There will be nothing to retain the Indian voters to the left of the centre. The team which Rahul is nurturing now is too talented to work cohesively as a team for ever. The dynamism of its leaders will take it asunder into different directions. And as far as the Old Guard is concerned, it will never be strong enough to withstand, to resist churning fluctuations, having been politically suckled till senility by one woman or the other for almost half a century. India will not swing to extreme right as many would anticipate. India responds in a moderate and nuanced manner. At the most it will move slightly right of the centre. Would it be an over statement that India will be too obliged to find another saviour standing there - for India has a history of turning to a person with that magical surname. It will be hesitant to move further right and run into the arms of the certitude that Gandhis provide. Varun should time the completion of his tectonic shift exactly then to make things easier for everyone. The BJP would have disintegrated beyond recognition by then. There will be zillions of regional parties and the overall mood will be pro right. The final push will be a split in both the BJP and the Congress. The rightist elements in Congress combined with the anti-Rahul forces will team up with the centrist forces in the BJP to form a motley gathering just right of the centre, which will gain stability as well as credibility from its sheer size. Varun has to be there when this happens. Even a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. This is his destiny and he has to start the journey now, with small measured steps.