By now it has become a well known fact that the Congress will only be shooting itself in the foot if it lets the election race turn into a one-on-one contest. But they have already committed the mistake in their fierce endeavour to stop the nomination wave of Narendra Modi in May June this year, by regularly targeting him in all their submission, converting Modi as the single challenger to Rahul Gandhi.
More and more "media" tit bits are thrown as the election comes closer,exposing the change and swing in mood in the tussle between the two heavyweights, that is closely monitored :
Now the Congress party has to change the stance, from communal or secular platform of fight, the war is to be fought on development platform, and here Congress might have to try to debunk Modi’s claims of development like they have argued in the past. The party has repeatedly accused Modi of failing to look beyond Gujarat and being too full of his Gujarat success story. Congress party has been in power for two consecutive terms after having pushing NDA to the door, the Congress can also question Modi and BJP’s efficiency in running a country.
But as and when the poll battle becomes a Modi-Rahul face-off or a Modi-Congress PM hopeful face-off, it will become political suicide for the Congress. Because except Rahul's contribution to the party organisational restructuring, he has nothing else as concrete achievements to show, that he can take a fair claim on.
There is no evidence that Rahul Gandhi takes active part in policy-making and policy-implementation. Even in the Lok Sabha, while Sonia Gandhi pushed the Food Security Bill with a hasty speech, Rahul Gandhi was seen and heard nowhere. Even outside the House, Rahul’s promotion of the Food Bill has been mostly blank assumptions that don’t stand on facts for support.
Rahul Gandhi's speeches sound more like college union election addresses than something meant to influence the most important polls in the country. Finally, Rahul can’t claim to have run anything with any success. And that clearly makes bigger sense that Rahul will only be doing Congress party a favour by not declaring himself its prime ministerial candidate.
At the same time the youth and development hope juggernaut called Narendra Modi, has gathered momentum needs to be looked at seriously by his opposition, the Congress. To remain in intellectual denial, claiming that Modi has no resonance in the southern states of India or in Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra and the Northeast, will allow him a free run, and not necessarily as the face of the BJP. Thus a fighter and doer Modi will be imagined to take the role of a ‘saviour’.
This time the general elections could well defy the predictable parameters of the national vote. The polls may be an aberration in the sense that the election would not pay any heed to the factors as done in past but swiftly change to new role of youth unconcerned with caste and religion. The media are hysterical in their superficial support of Modi and his rhetoric. ‘Debate’ on talk shows continues to insult the intelligence of viewers, yes Modi supporters has deftly used this sub-standard discourse by the ruling party's arrogant spokespersons, to his advantage.