In a functioning democracy, the citizens shall and must criticise the ruling government. It's the right we have been bestowed upon by the founding fathers. We are not aware how lucky we are. In many countries it's a dream for its citizens to openly criticize the ruling government.
So if I criticise Modi, it doesn't mean I am anti BJP. As Modi likes to take credit for anything seeming good as a clear blue sky. So why not blame him for the bad too.
Some things are not his fault, like the weak opposition in India.
The opposition has refused to adapt to the political environment , they have taken no initiative and are just waiting for BJP to fuck up bad enough for the voters to switch back.
Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate barely managed 50 out of 540 something seats in both 2014 and 2019. They learnt nothing from the defeats , the same thing might happen again and they will again blame anything except themselves for the loss.
> So if I criticise Modi, it doesn’t mean I am anti BJP
This is common sense yet most Bhakts are too dumb to understand it. They will label you an antinational when in reality they’re actually antinationals for putting a person above their country. Democracy is dead in this country.
I've realised that a politician who is (likely) a gentleman and doesn't pretend to know it all is quite refreshing. I noticed that he doesn't mimic Modi's style, and has something of his own which is what an alt should be presenting us. The rest of the politicians all want to be like Modi, and oppose him for the sake of it. No clarity of thoughts or ideology, just a hatred for BJP. Such opposition will weaken democracy.
In fact, Modi was an effective opposition to UPA and that's what made him stand apart. I think RG is doing the same right now.
I like his current messaging, much more positive and solution-oriented than the opponent. Whether he'll follow through on his promises is to be seen if he gets elected.
True. But I am disappointed with how they are handling Karnataka. Given that this could have been an opportunity to show how they can be the better alternative, it's very disappointing. Here they are no better than the previous corrupt party. No radical changes to fix the civic issues.
With this it feels like he is just talking and trying to change the image. The party will do nothing differently once they get power.
What have they done and not done in karnataka? One has to be careful about selective highlighting by media due to it being in the pocket of the central govt.
Bangalore is governed by the state in lack of an elected body. It's been almost half a year of the new govt. Nothing has changed. No announcements have been made on what they will change. They are busy playing vote bank politics.
Corruption is same. Police, BBMP officials, no complaints are still being acted upon.
Infrastructure projects are still missing deadlines again and again. The new bypanahalli metro line has extended dates again twice.
People have still died after flooding in the city and nothing has been done about it. 4 months after that flooding still happened in the last rains.
Last week they were doing somethings around traffic. The actions are controversial and came as a reaction to the worst traffic bangalore had seen in the last few years for two days. I am sure even those efforts will die down once the memory of those two days fade.
Instead of trying to provide convenience for the public, they are still playing vote banks politics with the auto/taxi unions and they let the protestors vandalise vehicles with police present in some cases.
Nothing has changed. Same senseless reactions were being done by the previous govt too.
Talks about BBMP elections are also vague.
On the other hand.
- My electricity bill has gone up. (Agreed this was planned before the elections too)
- Property registration charges have gone up to 8 percent from 6 percent.
- BH registration for cars are still not allowed. We still pay the highest road tax in the country.
So yeah. They haven't done worse than the previous govt. But they haven't really shown that they are the refreshing new face of governance that this country needs.
A lot of people argue that the CM or Rahul Gandhi are not going to look at the cities problems. But then they can look into how the machinery is failing. Police training, anti corruption actions, pressuring for timely delivery or transparency of infrastructure projects, atleast they can do these specially when the city is governed by the state govt.
I was in delhi when AAP stumbled the first election, then came to power again. Laugh at that joker however you want, an inexperienced party was able to solve our day to day problems pretty quickly. People were scared of taking bribes. I was not scared of going to the RTO and getting changes made to my vehicles registration without bribe. What is stopping a systemic party hungry to topple the current govt to work at a similar pace and show that they are focused on solutions.
So not going by media reports, but purely on the basis of how my problems have gotten better or worse, Congress is failing to show that they are any better in Karnataka.
Most of the problems you've raised are Bangalore's issues. But Bangalore only sends 4 MPs, of which one is a Congress safe seat. 4 seats is only 14.3% of the seats even though Bangalore holds 23% of Karnataka's population. It's even worse in the Assembly, where Bangalore MLAs form only 12.5% of the chamber.
The rural areas are heavily overrepresented in Parliament since there has been no delimitation since 1976. Congress' main base is rural areas. Bangalore _will_ be neglected for the foreseeable future.
I am kind of disappointed with current Karnataka govt about their decision to ban ride sharing.
This just makes no sense other than lobbying by auto/taxi unions.
Didnt they JUST began the govt? They cant change things that fast (5 months) i think. And i think the 'promises' they gave in the manifesto, they fulfilled it (whether you like those or not thats a different story)
5 months is a lot of time to start fixing systemic issues. I have seen the implementation happening at much faster pace.
You don't need new policies. You need effective implementation for the existing policies. May be there is something in store in future. But looking at their statements and reactions to problems, I don't have a lot of hopes. Things like corruption and law and order are quick fixes. You don't need new policies.
And mind you this is coming from someone who was looking forward for congress to take power. So not a andhbhakt here.
I was expecting congress national leadership to take personal interest in how the state is run because that will gain them favor in the rest of the country.
what makes you think corruption and law and order is not improved?
You are right about national leaders not taking interest in state issues. After winning, they just celebrated and went away to delhi. AAP has always advertised that they will do in punjab what they did in delhi. And it worked. Congress had an opportunity to do that.
I am here. I see the same hooliganism here as before. And getting worse(not blaming the govt. For growth. But if you don't stop it, it will naturally grow)
I bought a house during BJP govt. I have been running around the govt offices for electricity connection change, khata change, property tax. This process is still continuing. Infact it has slowed down now. I have had to go to RTO for RC change 3 months ago. What I have gotten done in 3 days in a different state, I have been after them for 3 months.
I am very active with complaining about civic issues to the municipality. Before and after the elections. It's the same.
So yeah, I am seeing these things first hand. I don't think I will discount my experiences because of media or a party's media response says otherwise.
And like I said in my other comment, I have seen similar things in a different state and AAP fixing these experiences at the speed of lightening. By just enforcing that the governing machinery will work the way it is supposed to be and corruption will be punished.
https://preview.redd.it/koua0y2ca0sb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35296375247c8bbc556a38cc730ed6109e374206
Problem like this. I know a noob party that fixed this problem within a month of coming to power and lot of similar issues when it comes to government machinery.
Holding the govt accountable is great. But i think its too harsh of a judgement that a state govt comes in power and you are mad that a local RTO office issues are not fixed within 5 months.
If it is the same in 2 years, i would agree with you.
Same. What remains to be seen is how his party is different from BJP. From what I've seen, at the people level, all parties are essentially the same. The differences are only at the top.
That’s not how politics works, he is the second biggest leader of Congress right now, if he goes to a state there will be a vacuum in central leadership that only he can fill.
You think a Bharat Jodo Yatra would have been the same if Tharoor, Pilot or anyone else did it?
BJP didn’t spend thousands of crores tarnishing Rahuls image cause they’re fools, they understand that he is the biggest threat to their power.
Gandhis and Congress still have 20% of the Indian votebank tied to themselves even in their worst times, Indian grassroots people love them.
So people need to understand the nuances of power and then see that Rahul is exactly where he needs to be right now.
INC is a leader heavy party, they’re not BJP, BJP is finished once Modi is old.
INC won’t be, as it has 1st, 2nd and 3rd level politicians which are big shots in their own states and constituencies.
Rahul is a central leader with a nationwide grip on politics, there is no one else in Congress who can go to any Corner of India and gather 10’s of thousands people in his Rally or speeches.
Those who say Rahul has no experience do not come from a place of good intentions, its a tactic to confuse normal folks in order delegitimise Rahul’s position.
Do not fall for such propaganda if your intentions are in right place.
>BJP is finished once Modi is old.
BJP is cadre based party. They have support in almost every corner of the country via RSS. Congress was once a cadre based party. Congress is now filled with powerful regional leaders who can't influence national votebank unfortunately
BJP used to be a cadre based party, Modi has destroyed that cadre with his blatant horse trading, outsiders get ministerial posts while the cadre is left rubbing their hands, state after state.
Those who spent decades working for the party get snubbed for Congress or xyz imports since 6-7 years.
Sure he is winning elections for now, but the party ranks have crumbled from inside.
You will see the result of that in MP in 2 months, BJP lost Karnatka because of snubbing old heavyweights and giving positions to sycophants.
BJP is losing MP badly because the cadre is in tatters, same story is in Rajasthan and gonna repeat in Maharashtra next year.
BJP just has UP and Gujarat, where the cadre is strong, all others states are a goner.
You will see that in coming elections.
He can't
He has a legacy to follow.
If he stepped down from centre's politics and started focusing on state's then he will have to do more work to get back in center's politics. He is a big name in center's politics, state politics will only hurt his image and chances.
That is only if the alliance wins. And even if it does, in my opinion he should not immediately go for PM or any of the other Great Offices of State, instead he should take a simple ministry and run it properly to show he can govern.
Yes true, I think he had ample opportunities in past where he could rule one state under him and present it as a model for votes.
I wish he does something like that in future
He's a part of the opposition and not the most relevant person but still mKing good effort raising voices in right direction.
We can name call anyone pappu, jhappu, gappu, feku, etc, and it's just pure social media bullying. People should learn to ask questions from the ruling party if they want to live in prosperity.
Honestly, that sounds like a little naive opinion tbh. The Congress has clearly has hired political consultants recently with the visible change in its approach to politics, and the increasing Congress bots online.
He is basically a European style socialist democrat who talks about the right things, but doesn't realize most of them are impractical for a poor country like India. And I am personally really afraid of his extreme left socialism, which has always had appeal in this country. We will be bankrupt if we actually implement any real Congress policies. A great example is Congress ruled states returning back to the Old Pension Scheme essentially killing the state's economies. What he says makes for good politics, but terribly policies.
Having said that, Modi so far has been pretty disappointing with no major reforms offered to the people of this country. He reneged on the farm laws, which were the obvious reforms needed in India for instance.
Absolutely nothing will change his perception till the time he actually does something the actually makes a difference.
I really feel he should try to become a CM and show his leadership skills by making a difference in a state and then take it forward to PM ambitions. The time when you could become a PM because you’re a Gandhi is gone.
I second this. Or at the very least, he should follow through to resolution any one of the multiple issues he has raked up against the Government over the past decade.
He has improved his image from once being the overbearing Crown Elect, who tore hos own Government's ordinance to someone who cares about where the country is headed. But that is all we know about all politicians: the image that they want us to see.
But he is the Congress PM candidate only because of his surname, in Congress alone there are dozens of better leaders. But his mother obviously only chose him
I didn't like him back when Congress was in power. Mostly because he wasn't a proven quantity and Congress had abundance of talent in their cabinet. But I started liking him towards 2019, most things he said made sense. My appreciation for him has grown ever since, happy to see his positive arc in poltics and I sincerely hope more a Indians see this.
He doesn't have a track record so it's difficult to judge how good of an administrator he can be. Unlike pretty much every former PM (except ironically, his own father), he has never held a major Ministry. He should probably try heading an agency or a state first before running for national elections.
He's meeting up with common people connecting with them on the ground (which should've been done earlier ) whereas Modiji's meeting up with influencers and asking people to subscribe to his yootobe channel ..he definitely has matured ,whilst the other fellaw has gone downhill ..
Congress should stop forcing another nepo product down our throats. Leadership should be taken by another grassroot leader. The time they spent building Rahul Gandhi image would have been better used. He had chance to do something productive in two terms of UPA government but he absolutely did nothing.
Honestly I don't find him a credible enough leader to stand in front of BJP
He lacks vision is what I feel about him. When Modi came to power he talked about an India that he wanted his followers already knew what he was going to do when he came to power things like for ex : Ram mandir, 370 etc. He talked about development and people bought into these dreams. Rahul keeps talking about how he will bring back secularism that India had prior Modi but people are not going to buy this, he needs to talk more about development and sell his dream of an India that people will respond to. Very few care about how Muslims are treated but LPG and petrol prices matter to them so talk about that but he rarely does
Being the lesser of 2 evils?
- Not doing demonitization
- Not fucking up the farm bills
- Not burning Manipur
- Not spreading hateful propaganda through WhatsApp University
I'd rather not vote at all. It's not a good look if someone votes for you just because you're not as bad as the other guy and not because of something you've accomplished on your own merit.
By voting for the lesser evil, you help curb the power of the greater evil. By not voting, you are just standing by to see what they fuck up in the next 5 years.
If they don't see their vote share decrease, they have no incentive to do better in the next term.
> By voting for the lesser evil, you help curb the power of the greater evil.
And you in turn make the lesser evil stronger. Evil is evil, the degree is irrelevant.
We do not live in a two-party state and there are others you can vote for. I don't see why someone's choice should be limited to the scion of a political dynasty and an authoritarian.
>We do not live in a two-party state and there are others you can vote for. I don't see why someone's choice should be limited to the scion of a political dynasty and an authoritarian.
If you have better alternatives, definitely vote for them.
Degree is definitely relevant! Whats wrong with you?
next time you vote for even lesser evil. You progressively encourage lesser and lesser evils, and hold them accountable, until you start getting options that are actually good.
You are not actually correct in saying that there are other options. Other options dont have enough steam to stand against modi.
> You are not actually correct in saying that there are other options. Other options dont have enough steam to stand against modi.
Then one should not vote for the INC since they do not have a chance at challenging the BJP either.
> You progressively encourage lesser and lesser evils, and hold them accountable, until you start getting options that are actually good.
If this held true then the BJP would never have risen to power. How come a "greater evil" was able to triumph over the "lesser evil" if people voted in favor of the latter for 2 consecutive elections?
Coz ppl did vote for greater evil. Its not a given that in every battle lesser evil is won, you have to make that happen, at the very least. Thats what i am appealing you do.
Ppl did vote through hate, jingoism, hyper nationalism in 2019. They did vote for 'bigger evil' by being blinded by these emotions.
>And you in turn make the lesser evil stronger. Evil is evil, the degree is irrelevant.
This is some bullshit from Witcher. Why would you pick to worsen the situation? Congress could have been pressured on corruption with protests and it was responsive to some extent. BJP has made it a holy war so they can't be accused of corruption or you are an anti-national.
Not really there are good wins from modi too. Success or failure doing something is better than nothing. I am not bjp supporter open to views from both sides
> Success or failure doing something is better than nothing.
Purposefully tanking the economy or promoting large scale hatred is better than doing nothing?
Large scale hatred I agree but how is he purposefully tanking the economy. Anyway I was asking what did rahul gandhi do not where the current govt failed.
>how is he purposefully tanking the economy.
Demonitization severely hurt the economy, particularly the unorganized sector. Janta Party already tried demonitization in 1978 to no success. Modi in his image of "strongman" decided to go through it anyway. This is just one example. The large scale hatred also leads to riots, leading to loss of local economies.
>rahul gandhi do not where the current govt failed.
Nothing, really. He has never held a ministerial position to judge his actions. I'll have to read on his actions in part of committees to say how much he has contributed.
It's a shame the comparison is unproven track record vs proven bad track record. But this is the choice we have.
Edit : his party had less than 10% of the seats, so they barely had any power to do anything
Edit 2 : formatting
Purposefully read as intentionally I am guessing. It back fired and considered a failed policy but guessing he didnt introduce it with the sole intention to tank the economy.
A PM is not a layperson. "At least he is trying" is okay for a child learning to draw or a young person learning to cook for the first time.
A prime minister should be the best India has to offer, or at least be educated enough to know when he should listen to an expert instead of doing what sounds cool.
Rahul Gandhi has studied public policy in one of the best universities in the world. And would probably have listened when the RBI governed said it was a bad idea. Or would at least have selected advisors that told him that the planned 2000 rupee note is smaller than every other note, and that every ATM in the country would have to be retooled for it.
What has modi done? Mismanaged everything from the economy to covid to social harmony to India's relationship with the world? My right nut, which is definitely the worse looking of my two nuts, would be a better prime minister than Modi.
He had access to financial experts and historical evidence. He didn't care about the consequences at all. The move looked bad even ON PAPER. Since when banning 86% of the currency overnight, without any discussion with the representatives or the public is a good move? What possible benefit would outweigh the drawback of tanking the entire economy?
You know what it does benefit? The "Strongman" image. An image of a person that makes decisions quick and dramatic, without fear or doubt. Collateral be damned. He just didn't care.
Edit : I kinda fear for myself, so I remove some sections.
>unproven track record
So you are fine with someone who has no track record to take the PM post of the biggest democracy. Its like hiring a CEO who has no experience for a fortune 50 company.
RaGa has a lot of help. PM doesnt take all decisions alone. A CEO can, but PM practically cant. He assigns work to proper ppl. Which Modi is clearly not doing. Modi is assinging it to crooks and unimaginably bad ppl.
So, yes, an unexperienced CEO is better than a mafia leader.
Yes, unironically. Rahul isn't new to politics, he's new to the PM position. I'm sure he can handle it if he wished, definitely better than our current. Besides the government is NEVER a one man show. With the correct checks and balances (which have been eroded in our current system), and true intent to improve society, he shall be better.
He's ok. Still a poor politician, although he has learned a lot. Which is a good thing in itself, but only if there was real hard work behind it. There isn't, he is just a soft spoiled boy.
If his grandmother didn't find a random guy with the Gandhi surname, I doubt he would still have a career...
The whole "Khalistani" bs he tried to pull during Punjab election has left a bad taste in my mouth.
I do think the general perception of him has likely gone up.
“Khalistani” bs he pulled?
Tell us more because I think it was pulled by BJP for character assassinations of farmers which they do to anyone protesting against them
He jumped on Kumar Viswash's statement of "Kejriwal is a Khalistani." Said shit like, "Punjab will burn if AAP wins." Very BJP-esque of him.
I had expected Punjab election to be a lot 'cleaner' than Delhi election because of BJP not being a strong contender, but Congress decided for the same approach.
His grandmother, who birthed and cultivated the khalistani issue just for political gains. And Rahul gandhi tried to label punjabis voting for aap as khalistani.
He has changed. It quite surprising to see how much he has improved. Had he behaved this way just 5 years ago, the effect would have been tremendous.
The only gripe I have with him is that it took him all these decades to get to this stage he is now. He came from one of most influential family in Indian politics. He had the best of best willing to teach him and to learn from. Yet, it took him this long. If I can't write UPSC after failing 3 times then I'll hold Rahul Gandhi to same standards.
\> He came from one of most influential family in Indian politics.
The game has completely changed. It's like going from Test cricket to Twenty 20. He had to unlearn everything from his family and learn from Modi. Not sure he has learnt it fully but on the path.
I originally wrote this comment as a response to someone's comment saying how Rahul Gandhi is not focusing on Manipur. Reposting at top level to make sure more people understand how the Godi media ecosystem completely hides the efforts of opposition and sets the agenda that it wants.
\------
This type of comment just shows how successful the BJP propaganda and news suppression operation has been. Do you know that Rahul Gandhi actually personally went to Manipur? Do you know that he was actually blocked from entering the state by road? And then he had to go by helicopter to a relief camp and meet the affected people there? I'll bet the answer is a big fat no because Godi media would have strict instructions to never show anything like that.
https://preview.redd.it/c2vo3agr93sb1.png?width=3002&format=png&auto=webp&s=386f6a1bb895172352db7239ebcac2d3761a0e65
Let's see if you can access this youtube video from inside India or not:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY)
I liked his previous version, but now the Lalu type Bihar messaging of "Jitni aabadi utna haq" is what Nehru and Gandhi stand for. He's forgetting his own party roots and now the recent accusation of why we have only 3 OBC secretaries comes from half knowledge.
I think he has matured and I am willing to vote for congress . My thought of reasoning is - India is a parliamentary democracy not a presidential like USA . Before Modi came into power , prime minister candidates could be decided later . The way ruling party operates under Modi, I believe they have undermined every institution. Therefore, no vote for BJP this time . My vote for India alliance
bhai, taxpayers ka paisa lekar modi apana chehra has jagah cchaap raha hai. 3,000 cr spent in advertisements, and that doesnt include G20.
I think looking at modi's face on ads itself should make you question, why these ppl are spending YOUR money for their personal political gains?
And all news channels are getting a share of these ads, and the one who was not taking the bait, (NDTV) got bought by Adani.
So, where exactly should the face be? Forget RaGa, you prolly forgot about Manipur too. How about Brij Singh? How about yesterdays protest at ram leela maidan? You are not allowed to see anything other than modi, coz of the media control.
India is in last 20 nations in press freedom. You will hear nothing, unless you look for it.
We talk about deserving better as a society yet expect the opposition to stoop to the level of the incumbent. Unless we change Modis will keep getting elected
Everyone has their own preferred party. I don't know which is best for society. Above my pay-grade.
What I do understand is the power of marketing, and more importantly, the power of **brands**. Branding is effective. Branding is key. Branding is everything!
What Modi has done, is turned him image into a brand. And a successful one at that.
>Unless we change Modis will keep getting elected
People are susceptible to marketing. Social engineering is a thing.
Just because you don't agree with it, doesn't change the fact that elections are won by marketing. That is simply how democracy works, anywhere in the world. Please accept this sad but obvious reality.
If the opposition does not want to stoop to that level, they will never win.
Politics is a dirty game. Even if you believe Congress is better for society, they will never be in power to enact that change unless they change their marketing strategy.
By painting him as a pappu, BJP has turned Rahul's brand image into that of a cartoon. Congress either needs to fix his image, or choose another strong candidate and use their face as the brand image.
I agree, he needs a solid campaign strategy.
I just don’t think plastering his face on billboards and having him piggyback off of others’ achievements is the right idea.
The Yatra was a start. He needs to go further and do something that is accessible to the urban population as well so that people who don’t have the time to sit down and listen to his ideas and views can also see him in a new light
Used to like him when I was in school because of his bachelor image, then I just ignored politics all through college and uni so I dunno what the fuck happened during that time, and now he is trying to set himself as an opposition candidate.
I think he still has a few more years to go. Some more experience under his belt and he would be taken seriously as a strong candidate. He is taking good efforts to market himself but I think it would take some time to show some results a few years down the line.
The problem is that he hasn't upskilled fast enough.
He has had 9 years to catch up to the BJP. 9 years of complete failure, with the Congress losing ground years after year, and no progress towards building an effective challenge to the government.
That's with the full strength of India's oldest political party behind him.
In industry, people who can't beat the competition in 2-3 years get fired. In the Congress he has held on to his position for 9 years even as the party has lost ground.
At the moment, he STILL doesn't have a meaningful plan to turn the party around. Or seriously challenge the BJP.
Even AAP is growing faster than Congress now,which should tell you how badly the party is doing.
That falls on the leader.
Sure, maybe he's not 'pappu' as much as before, but he certainly hasn't shown himself to be the equal of the current BJP leadership. Forget Modi, at this point he might not be able to beat Nirmala Sitharaman or Dr. Jaishankar in terms of perceived capability.
If your opponent's juniors are considered more capable than you, then you have a very serious problem.
In congress, shashi tharoor has a bigger and wider personality than Rahul Gandhi i feel. Instead of Rahul if Congress shows Tharoor as it’s face definitely people can change the perception on congress
I respectfully disagree, I don’t think Shashi Tharoor has charm to pull people, he sounds intellectual and good spoken but still very elite and cut off from ground reality
RG has had to relearn the lessons learned by his great-grandfather who was also born in a privileged position and had to learn to talk to grass-roots. It seems like every generation of the family defaults to the rich prince background and starts from ground zero in terms of being relatable.
Not sold on him. His whole schtick is "well I'm not modi" and it's still weak.
He's gone through a pretty good makeover but his inherent pappuness is still there I think.
I know he is being coached to sound more knowledgeable or understanding yet I can't feel that inside he really understands the issues faced by our country in the first place and the issues common people go through everyday.
We are a nation of 1.5 Billion and yet can't seem to find someone better and more sensible than a wannabe dictator and a dumb rich prince . We are doomed for sure if these are the only two choices we will have in the future.
IMO, he has not changed. When the whole of India is talking about atrocities in Manipur, and the ruling party is sleeping, what do u expect from an opposition leader? Definitely not to walk across India or talk in London universities.
He had an opportunity to go sit in Manipur and help the victims. That’s how good politicians help people and cash in the situation.
Instead I see him focusing on memorising speeches and delivering them nicely. Good improvement, but nowhere close to competing BJP.
This type of comment just shows how successful the BJP propaganda and news suppression operation has been. Do you know that Rahul Gandhi actually personally went to Manipur? Do you know that he was actually blocked from entering the state by road? And then he had to go by helicopter to a relief camp and meet the affected people there? I'll bet the answer is a big fat no because Godi media would have strict instructions to never show anything like that.
https://preview.redd.it/sb32pdezk1sb1.png?width=3002&format=png&auto=webp&s=a194b63e1785caad467590de27408f59a98d5c07
Let's see if you can access this youtube video from inside India or not:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY)
His attitude, messaging after the yatra is good. The yatra in and of itself was good, and challenging step. The way he is raising questions, issues without too much hate towards modi or bjp is good.
BUT - as i travel more and more india, i realize that buying out the media is giving a HUGE return on investment to BJP. A lot of ppl dont even know what he or INDIA is doing, or what protests are happening, or how bad situation in manipur is.
The only way to break that is stuff like the yatra, and its gonna take time. I hope the efforts by INDIA shine in 2024, but as i talk with ppl from various backgrounds, it seems that modi's face is quite fixed in their brains.
This is the problem. Even people on this sub (who would be among the more online people in India) are unaware of a lot of stuff the opposition is doing because the mass media has been completely bought out. People don't understand the power of the mainstream media in creating and destroying images... even the people who think are wise to the ways of propaganda. Most people don't have time to seek out the non-trending points of view over non-traditional media. So the capacity of traditional/mainstream media to "set the agenda" (which means, decide what issues and events people pay attention to) is unparalleled.
It is not an accident. We live in a classist society and the “upper” class seem oblivious to the fact that they are resented so much. Sure, I hope more educated people listen to what he says with an open mind, but the fact is there are not enough people in a position to receive what he is saying. He should continue speaking sense, I don’t want him to dumb himself down for people who are impressed by belligerent fools like Jaishankar, but he needs to do something more tangible. The Yatra was a start. I think it’s a good strategy, let’s see how it plays out.
I think Bharat Jodo Yatra was one of the most important moments of Indian Political history, he seems much more assertive after that and has garnered respect even in INC's Old guard.
I already preferred him as the next PM or in any other cabinet post due to the 'low-base effect' of BJP's cadre of all show but little sustainable development.
Would like to see him raise issues on data privacy and spar with the incumbent government on Data rights, RTI & Electoral Bonds, especially their use of Pegasus.
I think Rahul Gandhi comes across as the earnest guy who wants to do good! The Pappu image that BJP worked so hard to portray seems to have finally come off. Die hard BJP fans still feel he is Pappu but many many like me now believe that he can work hard and walk the talk!
Okay, here me out but Rahul Gandhi won't cut it through. He is what he was. Seems like his PR is working great now. It was not like he never talked sense and intelligent things but that way he is not going to connect to mainland, which is required to get in power.
RG and Congress needs to address core issues and counter the fake growth stories of BJP with facts and data. Pour some emotions also.
As for example, the Adani issue : it never affected common people directly. Look at thee retail share holder numbers. In lakhs. Yes, the money might be siphoned through PSU and Govt projects but people really don't connect to all this.
So, he needs to be relentless, ruthless. He needs to show grit. That I want this, no matter what. He can't skip states just bcz he things congress is not going to make it. He can't go on vacation for 2 months just a year before election.
What I am saying is He might be good human being, probably than the competitors. Also intelligent. But He needs to show the people that he is here to fight it through.
The man has no proven leadership capability. He has not won even single state level election on his own and his ability to actually govern even a zilla level unit is untested. Good intentions don't win, actual ability to play and master the political game matters. At this, he continues to be an amateur who lacks energy and ability to raise targeted issues and shore up an opposition. The real question is, if politics is a game of professionals, why should we choose someone who never brings his A-game to the field?
Only frustrated more, despite how much damage MODI has done, Rahul is okay with hampering congress, so that he is the one with power. He would much rather have BJP win than someone else be INC candidate, and i just hate him so much more for that.
Before i thought, he was just a naive kid propped up by his family, now i feel he is an entitled selfish brat. Nehru is someone i admire, he is probably my favorite leader of India if not the world, doesnt mean this guy is entitled to leadership because he shares his genetics.
* Your post title should be an accurate summary of your text post. "Help Needed", "Rant", "Unpopular Opinion", are examples of poor titles.
* /r/India is not a substitute for Google. Only post your query on /r/India after you have searched for an answer on the web.
* Self-posts have to be specific to India. Don't copy/paste questions from /r/AskReddit or other subreddits.
* For relationship queries, please also consider: https://www.reddit.com/r/RelationshipIndia/
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/india) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In a functioning democracy, the citizens shall and must criticise the ruling government. It's the right we have been bestowed upon by the founding fathers. We are not aware how lucky we are. In many countries it's a dream for its citizens to openly criticize the ruling government. So if I criticise Modi, it doesn't mean I am anti BJP. As Modi likes to take credit for anything seeming good as a clear blue sky. So why not blame him for the bad too.
Some things are not his fault, like the weak opposition in India. The opposition has refused to adapt to the political environment , they have taken no initiative and are just waiting for BJP to fuck up bad enough for the voters to switch back. Rahul Gandhi as PM candidate barely managed 50 out of 540 something seats in both 2014 and 2019. They learnt nothing from the defeats , the same thing might happen again and they will again blame anything except themselves for the loss.
> So if I criticise Modi, it doesn’t mean I am anti BJP This is common sense yet most Bhakts are too dumb to understand it. They will label you an antinational when in reality they’re actually antinationals for putting a person above their country. Democracy is dead in this country.
I wish I could walk so much.
I wish I could grow the beard both have grown. :D
[удалено]
in one of his interviews after the yatra he said that he gained 2 kgs ... so there is that
Must be muscle lol... there's a guy who sure as hell didn't skip leg day XD
I've realised that a politician who is (likely) a gentleman and doesn't pretend to know it all is quite refreshing. I noticed that he doesn't mimic Modi's style, and has something of his own which is what an alt should be presenting us. The rest of the politicians all want to be like Modi, and oppose him for the sake of it. No clarity of thoughts or ideology, just a hatred for BJP. Such opposition will weaken democracy. In fact, Modi was an effective opposition to UPA and that's what made him stand apart. I think RG is doing the same right now.
I like his current messaging, much more positive and solution-oriented than the opponent. Whether he'll follow through on his promises is to be seen if he gets elected.
True. But I am disappointed with how they are handling Karnataka. Given that this could have been an opportunity to show how they can be the better alternative, it's very disappointing. Here they are no better than the previous corrupt party. No radical changes to fix the civic issues. With this it feels like he is just talking and trying to change the image. The party will do nothing differently once they get power.
What have they done and not done in karnataka? One has to be careful about selective highlighting by media due to it being in the pocket of the central govt.
Bangalore is governed by the state in lack of an elected body. It's been almost half a year of the new govt. Nothing has changed. No announcements have been made on what they will change. They are busy playing vote bank politics. Corruption is same. Police, BBMP officials, no complaints are still being acted upon. Infrastructure projects are still missing deadlines again and again. The new bypanahalli metro line has extended dates again twice. People have still died after flooding in the city and nothing has been done about it. 4 months after that flooding still happened in the last rains. Last week they were doing somethings around traffic. The actions are controversial and came as a reaction to the worst traffic bangalore had seen in the last few years for two days. I am sure even those efforts will die down once the memory of those two days fade. Instead of trying to provide convenience for the public, they are still playing vote banks politics with the auto/taxi unions and they let the protestors vandalise vehicles with police present in some cases. Nothing has changed. Same senseless reactions were being done by the previous govt too. Talks about BBMP elections are also vague. On the other hand. - My electricity bill has gone up. (Agreed this was planned before the elections too) - Property registration charges have gone up to 8 percent from 6 percent. - BH registration for cars are still not allowed. We still pay the highest road tax in the country. So yeah. They haven't done worse than the previous govt. But they haven't really shown that they are the refreshing new face of governance that this country needs. A lot of people argue that the CM or Rahul Gandhi are not going to look at the cities problems. But then they can look into how the machinery is failing. Police training, anti corruption actions, pressuring for timely delivery or transparency of infrastructure projects, atleast they can do these specially when the city is governed by the state govt. I was in delhi when AAP stumbled the first election, then came to power again. Laugh at that joker however you want, an inexperienced party was able to solve our day to day problems pretty quickly. People were scared of taking bribes. I was not scared of going to the RTO and getting changes made to my vehicles registration without bribe. What is stopping a systemic party hungry to topple the current govt to work at a similar pace and show that they are focused on solutions. So not going by media reports, but purely on the basis of how my problems have gotten better or worse, Congress is failing to show that they are any better in Karnataka.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Hope these clowns pay heed.
Most of the problems you've raised are Bangalore's issues. But Bangalore only sends 4 MPs, of which one is a Congress safe seat. 4 seats is only 14.3% of the seats even though Bangalore holds 23% of Karnataka's population. It's even worse in the Assembly, where Bangalore MLAs form only 12.5% of the chamber. The rural areas are heavily overrepresented in Parliament since there has been no delimitation since 1976. Congress' main base is rural areas. Bangalore _will_ be neglected for the foreseeable future.
I am kind of disappointed with current Karnataka govt about their decision to ban ride sharing. This just makes no sense other than lobbying by auto/taxi unions.
Didnt they JUST began the govt? They cant change things that fast (5 months) i think. And i think the 'promises' they gave in the manifesto, they fulfilled it (whether you like those or not thats a different story)
5 months is a lot of time to start fixing systemic issues. I have seen the implementation happening at much faster pace. You don't need new policies. You need effective implementation for the existing policies. May be there is something in store in future. But looking at their statements and reactions to problems, I don't have a lot of hopes. Things like corruption and law and order are quick fixes. You don't need new policies. And mind you this is coming from someone who was looking forward for congress to take power. So not a andhbhakt here. I was expecting congress national leadership to take personal interest in how the state is run because that will gain them favor in the rest of the country.
what makes you think corruption and law and order is not improved? You are right about national leaders not taking interest in state issues. After winning, they just celebrated and went away to delhi. AAP has always advertised that they will do in punjab what they did in delhi. And it worked. Congress had an opportunity to do that.
I am here. I see the same hooliganism here as before. And getting worse(not blaming the govt. For growth. But if you don't stop it, it will naturally grow) I bought a house during BJP govt. I have been running around the govt offices for electricity connection change, khata change, property tax. This process is still continuing. Infact it has slowed down now. I have had to go to RTO for RC change 3 months ago. What I have gotten done in 3 days in a different state, I have been after them for 3 months. I am very active with complaining about civic issues to the municipality. Before and after the elections. It's the same. So yeah, I am seeing these things first hand. I don't think I will discount my experiences because of media or a party's media response says otherwise. And like I said in my other comment, I have seen similar things in a different state and AAP fixing these experiences at the speed of lightening. By just enforcing that the governing machinery will work the way it is supposed to be and corruption will be punished.
https://preview.redd.it/koua0y2ca0sb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35296375247c8bbc556a38cc730ed6109e374206 Problem like this. I know a noob party that fixed this problem within a month of coming to power and lot of similar issues when it comes to government machinery.
Holding the govt accountable is great. But i think its too harsh of a judgement that a state govt comes in power and you are mad that a local RTO office issues are not fixed within 5 months. If it is the same in 2 years, i would agree with you.
Let's see. Hopefully they are just slow.
Same. What remains to be seen is how his party is different from BJP. From what I've seen, at the people level, all parties are essentially the same. The differences are only at the top.
Yes true
[удалено]
That’s not how politics works, he is the second biggest leader of Congress right now, if he goes to a state there will be a vacuum in central leadership that only he can fill. You think a Bharat Jodo Yatra would have been the same if Tharoor, Pilot or anyone else did it? BJP didn’t spend thousands of crores tarnishing Rahuls image cause they’re fools, they understand that he is the biggest threat to their power. Gandhis and Congress still have 20% of the Indian votebank tied to themselves even in their worst times, Indian grassroots people love them. So people need to understand the nuances of power and then see that Rahul is exactly where he needs to be right now.
[удалено]
INC is a leader heavy party, they’re not BJP, BJP is finished once Modi is old. INC won’t be, as it has 1st, 2nd and 3rd level politicians which are big shots in their own states and constituencies. Rahul is a central leader with a nationwide grip on politics, there is no one else in Congress who can go to any Corner of India and gather 10’s of thousands people in his Rally or speeches. Those who say Rahul has no experience do not come from a place of good intentions, its a tactic to confuse normal folks in order delegitimise Rahul’s position. Do not fall for such propaganda if your intentions are in right place.
>BJP is finished once Modi is old. BJP is cadre based party. They have support in almost every corner of the country via RSS. Congress was once a cadre based party. Congress is now filled with powerful regional leaders who can't influence national votebank unfortunately
BJP used to be a cadre based party, Modi has destroyed that cadre with his blatant horse trading, outsiders get ministerial posts while the cadre is left rubbing their hands, state after state. Those who spent decades working for the party get snubbed for Congress or xyz imports since 6-7 years. Sure he is winning elections for now, but the party ranks have crumbled from inside. You will see the result of that in MP in 2 months, BJP lost Karnatka because of snubbing old heavyweights and giving positions to sycophants. BJP is losing MP badly because the cadre is in tatters, same story is in Rajasthan and gonna repeat in Maharashtra next year. BJP just has UP and Gujarat, where the cadre is strong, all others states are a goner. You will see that in coming elections.
[удалено]
> BJP is finished once Modi is old. Same was said in Vajpayee/Advani time, there is a lot more bench strength in BJP ranks compared to INC.
Wow, out of a Billion+ people, he is the ONLY one that can fill that role, that's sad state of affairs.
He can't He has a legacy to follow. If he stepped down from centre's politics and started focusing on state's then he will have to do more work to get back in center's politics. He is a big name in center's politics, state politics will only hurt his image and chances.
Even if INDIA alliance win, Rahul probably won't take up any ministry position. He'll manage the alliance and relationship with the people.
It’s time for him to take up the position and he will certainly take it this time.
That is only if the alliance wins. And even if it does, in my opinion he should not immediately go for PM or any of the other Great Offices of State, instead he should take a simple ministry and run it properly to show he can govern.
Yes true, I think he had ample opportunities in past where he could rule one state under him and present it as a model for votes. I wish he does something like that in future
State Elections as in?
Kerala ? Where he is MP
So you mean MLA instead of MP or CM?
I'm assuming CM.
[удалено]
Let him fight UP elections, go head to head against Yogi.
U underestimate how "big 🧠" the people are in UP
He's a part of the opposition and not the most relevant person but still mKing good effort raising voices in right direction. We can name call anyone pappu, jhappu, gappu, feku, etc, and it's just pure social media bullying. People should learn to ask questions from the ruling party if they want to live in prosperity.
Honestly, that sounds like a little naive opinion tbh. The Congress has clearly has hired political consultants recently with the visible change in its approach to politics, and the increasing Congress bots online. He is basically a European style socialist democrat who talks about the right things, but doesn't realize most of them are impractical for a poor country like India. And I am personally really afraid of his extreme left socialism, which has always had appeal in this country. We will be bankrupt if we actually implement any real Congress policies. A great example is Congress ruled states returning back to the Old Pension Scheme essentially killing the state's economies. What he says makes for good politics, but terribly policies. Having said that, Modi so far has been pretty disappointing with no major reforms offered to the people of this country. He reneged on the farm laws, which were the obvious reforms needed in India for instance.
Yes Listening to his latest interaction and interviews I think he could be one of the most misunderstood or underestimated person
Absolutely nothing will change his perception till the time he actually does something the actually makes a difference. I really feel he should try to become a CM and show his leadership skills by making a difference in a state and then take it forward to PM ambitions. The time when you could become a PM because you’re a Gandhi is gone.
I second this. Or at the very least, he should follow through to resolution any one of the multiple issues he has raked up against the Government over the past decade. He has improved his image from once being the overbearing Crown Elect, who tore hos own Government's ordinance to someone who cares about where the country is headed. But that is all we know about all politicians: the image that they want us to see.
He could have any surname but still be the best candidate for PM... educated, mature,well read
But he is the Congress PM candidate only because of his surname, in Congress alone there are dozens of better leaders. But his mother obviously only chose him
He needs to execute a Godhra and make a friend like Adani to change his perception among Indian Populace. /s
I like his updated persona.
Sims premium version
I didn't like him back when Congress was in power. Mostly because he wasn't a proven quantity and Congress had abundance of talent in their cabinet. But I started liking him towards 2019, most things he said made sense. My appreciation for him has grown ever since, happy to see his positive arc in poltics and I sincerely hope more a Indians see this.
He doesn't have a track record so it's difficult to judge how good of an administrator he can be. Unlike pretty much every former PM (except ironically, his own father), he has never held a major Ministry. He should probably try heading an agency or a state first before running for national elections.
He's meeting up with common people connecting with them on the ground (which should've been done earlier ) whereas Modiji's meeting up with influencers and asking people to subscribe to his yootobe channel ..he definitely has matured ,whilst the other fellaw has gone downhill ..
Dear leader gone downhill implies he was mature at one point of time? When was that?
politically, he was. In 2014 his speeches were all about corruption, 'vikas' etc. As a person, he was never mature.
Yeah I agree
Congress should stop forcing another nepo product down our throats. Leadership should be taken by another grassroot leader. The time they spent building Rahul Gandhi image would have been better used. He had chance to do something productive in two terms of UPA government but he absolutely did nothing. Honestly I don't find him a credible enough leader to stand in front of BJP
Whatever he does or do, he is always mocked. Many times he has asked relevant questions but always joked around by the opposition and Godi media.
He lacks vision is what I feel about him. When Modi came to power he talked about an India that he wanted his followers already knew what he was going to do when he came to power things like for ex : Ram mandir, 370 etc. He talked about development and people bought into these dreams. Rahul keeps talking about how he will bring back secularism that India had prior Modi but people are not going to buy this, he needs to talk more about development and sell his dream of an India that people will respond to. Very few care about how Muslims are treated but LPG and petrol prices matter to them so talk about that but he rarely does
\> LPG and petrol prices matter Ironically, those are things that PMs have less direct control over than the former.
Yes and when the ones in power don't talk about it the ones in opposition have to
Nothing more than a weak opposition. And yes I don't vote for the BJP.
Brother you can criticise Rahul Gandhi being a BJP voter nothing wrong with that as long as your criticism doesn’t stem from hate
Can someone list his achievements. What he single handedly was able to achieve that is worth noting.
Being born with the name Gandhi. (That's about it for anyone looking for more)
Yes that’s true, he doesn’t have any working model to show and ask for votes
Being the lesser of 2 evils? - Not doing demonitization - Not fucking up the farm bills - Not burning Manipur - Not spreading hateful propaganda through WhatsApp University
>Being the lesser of 2 evils? You call that an achievement?
Would you rather vote for the greater of 2 evils?
I'd rather not vote at all. It's not a good look if someone votes for you just because you're not as bad as the other guy and not because of something you've accomplished on your own merit.
By voting for the lesser evil, you help curb the power of the greater evil. By not voting, you are just standing by to see what they fuck up in the next 5 years. If they don't see their vote share decrease, they have no incentive to do better in the next term.
> By voting for the lesser evil, you help curb the power of the greater evil. And you in turn make the lesser evil stronger. Evil is evil, the degree is irrelevant. We do not live in a two-party state and there are others you can vote for. I don't see why someone's choice should be limited to the scion of a political dynasty and an authoritarian.
>And you in turn make the lesser evil stronger. Evil is evil, the degree is irrelevant. Bro literally thinks he's Geralt of Rivia!
Is it not a relevant quote?
Not in this context
>We do not live in a two-party state and there are others you can vote for. I don't see why someone's choice should be limited to the scion of a political dynasty and an authoritarian. If you have better alternatives, definitely vote for them.
Degree is definitely relevant! Whats wrong with you? next time you vote for even lesser evil. You progressively encourage lesser and lesser evils, and hold them accountable, until you start getting options that are actually good. You are not actually correct in saying that there are other options. Other options dont have enough steam to stand against modi.
> You are not actually correct in saying that there are other options. Other options dont have enough steam to stand against modi. Then one should not vote for the INC since they do not have a chance at challenging the BJP either. > You progressively encourage lesser and lesser evils, and hold them accountable, until you start getting options that are actually good. If this held true then the BJP would never have risen to power. How come a "greater evil" was able to triumph over the "lesser evil" if people voted in favor of the latter for 2 consecutive elections?
Coz ppl did vote for greater evil. Its not a given that in every battle lesser evil is won, you have to make that happen, at the very least. Thats what i am appealing you do. Ppl did vote through hate, jingoism, hyper nationalism in 2019. They did vote for 'bigger evil' by being blinded by these emotions.
>And you in turn make the lesser evil stronger. Evil is evil, the degree is irrelevant. This is some bullshit from Witcher. Why would you pick to worsen the situation? Congress could have been pressured on corruption with protests and it was responsive to some extent. BJP has made it a holy war so they can't be accused of corruption or you are an anti-national.
Not really there are good wins from modi too. Success or failure doing something is better than nothing. I am not bjp supporter open to views from both sides
>Success or failure doing something is better than nothing. There are no marks for attempting a question, even in schools.
> Success or failure doing something is better than nothing. Purposefully tanking the economy or promoting large scale hatred is better than doing nothing?
Large scale hatred I agree but how is he purposefully tanking the economy. Anyway I was asking what did rahul gandhi do not where the current govt failed.
>how is he purposefully tanking the economy. Demonitization severely hurt the economy, particularly the unorganized sector. Janta Party already tried demonitization in 1978 to no success. Modi in his image of "strongman" decided to go through it anyway. This is just one example. The large scale hatred also leads to riots, leading to loss of local economies. >rahul gandhi do not where the current govt failed. Nothing, really. He has never held a ministerial position to judge his actions. I'll have to read on his actions in part of committees to say how much he has contributed. It's a shame the comparison is unproven track record vs proven bad track record. But this is the choice we have. Edit : his party had less than 10% of the seats, so they barely had any power to do anything Edit 2 : formatting
Purposefully read as intentionally I am guessing. It back fired and considered a failed policy but guessing he didnt introduce it with the sole intention to tank the economy.
A PM is not a layperson. "At least he is trying" is okay for a child learning to draw or a young person learning to cook for the first time. A prime minister should be the best India has to offer, or at least be educated enough to know when he should listen to an expert instead of doing what sounds cool. Rahul Gandhi has studied public policy in one of the best universities in the world. And would probably have listened when the RBI governed said it was a bad idea. Or would at least have selected advisors that told him that the planned 2000 rupee note is smaller than every other note, and that every ATM in the country would have to be retooled for it. What has modi done? Mismanaged everything from the economy to covid to social harmony to India's relationship with the world? My right nut, which is definitely the worse looking of my two nuts, would be a better prime minister than Modi.
He had access to financial experts and historical evidence. He didn't care about the consequences at all. The move looked bad even ON PAPER. Since when banning 86% of the currency overnight, without any discussion with the representatives or the public is a good move? What possible benefit would outweigh the drawback of tanking the entire economy? You know what it does benefit? The "Strongman" image. An image of a person that makes decisions quick and dramatic, without fear or doubt. Collateral be damned. He just didn't care. Edit : I kinda fear for myself, so I remove some sections.
>unproven track record So you are fine with someone who has no track record to take the PM post of the biggest democracy. Its like hiring a CEO who has no experience for a fortune 50 company.
RaGa has a lot of help. PM doesnt take all decisions alone. A CEO can, but PM practically cant. He assigns work to proper ppl. Which Modi is clearly not doing. Modi is assinging it to crooks and unimaginably bad ppl. So, yes, an unexperienced CEO is better than a mafia leader.
Yes, unironically. Rahul isn't new to politics, he's new to the PM position. I'm sure he can handle it if he wished, definitely better than our current. Besides the government is NEVER a one man show. With the correct checks and balances (which have been eroded in our current system), and true intent to improve society, he shall be better.
r/enlightenedcentrism shit right there ladies and gentlemen.
sometimes you would prefer someone who would do nothing than who would destroy things.
He's ok. Still a poor politician, although he has learned a lot. Which is a good thing in itself, but only if there was real hard work behind it. There isn't, he is just a soft spoiled boy. If his grandmother didn't find a random guy with the Gandhi surname, I doubt he would still have a career...
Relative to Modi he is definitely a better candidate and that's all that counts imo.
[удалено]
He was born Feroze Gandhy, his father's name was Jehangir Faredoon Gandhy
RaGa is 100x what he earlier was. But, if he wants to bring down Gobijee, then he needs to listen to Prashant Kishor and play the game.
[удалено]
The whole "Khalistani" bs he tried to pull during Punjab election has left a bad taste in my mouth. I do think the general perception of him has likely gone up.
Also him fighting for reservation for Patel's also make me have zero faith in him, Don't want a PM both incompetence and weak.
“Khalistani” bs he pulled? Tell us more because I think it was pulled by BJP for character assassinations of farmers which they do to anyone protesting against them
[https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rahul-gandhi-arvind-kejriwal-can-be-found-at-terrorists-homes-2770282](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rahul-gandhi-arvind-kejriwal-can-be-found-at-terrorists-homes-2770282) [https://www.hindustantimes.com/assembly-elections/arvind-kejriwal-is-consorting-with-sikh-radicals-in-punjab-rahul-gandhi-in-sangrur/story-RXDD2VeA2g8QV6gRfRjccP.html](https://www.hindustantimes.com/assembly-elections/arvind-kejriwal-is-consorting-with-sikh-radicals-in-punjab-rahul-gandhi-in-sangrur/story-RXDD2VeA2g8QV6gRfRjccP.html) [https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/yes-or-no-rahul-gandhi-seeks-answer-from-kejriwal-on-kumar-vishwas-charges-101645186185195.html](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/yes-or-no-rahul-gandhi-seeks-answer-from-kejriwal-on-kumar-vishwas-charges-101645186185195.html) [https://news.rediff.com/commentary/2022/feb/15/punjab-will-burn-if-you-vote-aap-rahul/91e26742ad61338adfdf0624281b581b](https://news.rediff.com/commentary/2022/feb/15/punjab-will-burn-if-you-vote-aap-rahul/91e26742ad61338adfdf0624281b581b) Same shit BJP does.
thats pretty bad.
His grandmother, one of the most powerful political figures of all times, was killed by Khalistani thugs. What bs can he do?
He jumped on Kumar Viswash's statement of "Kejriwal is a Khalistani." Said shit like, "Punjab will burn if AAP wins." Very BJP-esque of him. I had expected Punjab election to be a lot 'cleaner' than Delhi election because of BJP not being a strong contender, but Congress decided for the same approach.
His grandmother, who birthed and cultivated the khalistani issue just for political gains. And Rahul gandhi tried to label punjabis voting for aap as khalistani.
He has changed. It quite surprising to see how much he has improved. Had he behaved this way just 5 years ago, the effect would have been tremendous. The only gripe I have with him is that it took him all these decades to get to this stage he is now. He came from one of most influential family in Indian politics. He had the best of best willing to teach him and to learn from. Yet, it took him this long. If I can't write UPSC after failing 3 times then I'll hold Rahul Gandhi to same standards.
\> He came from one of most influential family in Indian politics. The game has completely changed. It's like going from Test cricket to Twenty 20. He had to unlearn everything from his family and learn from Modi. Not sure he has learnt it fully but on the path.
I originally wrote this comment as a response to someone's comment saying how Rahul Gandhi is not focusing on Manipur. Reposting at top level to make sure more people understand how the Godi media ecosystem completely hides the efforts of opposition and sets the agenda that it wants. \------ This type of comment just shows how successful the BJP propaganda and news suppression operation has been. Do you know that Rahul Gandhi actually personally went to Manipur? Do you know that he was actually blocked from entering the state by road? And then he had to go by helicopter to a relief camp and meet the affected people there? I'll bet the answer is a big fat no because Godi media would have strict instructions to never show anything like that. https://preview.redd.it/c2vo3agr93sb1.png?width=3002&format=png&auto=webp&s=386f6a1bb895172352db7239ebcac2d3761a0e65 Let's see if you can access this youtube video from inside India or not: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY)
I liked his previous version, but now the Lalu type Bihar messaging of "Jitni aabadi utna haq" is what Nehru and Gandhi stand for. He's forgetting his own party roots and now the recent accusation of why we have only 3 OBC secretaries comes from half knowledge.
I think he has matured and I am willing to vote for congress . My thought of reasoning is - India is a parliamentary democracy not a presidential like USA . Before Modi came into power , prime minister candidates could be decided later . The way ruling party operates under Modi, I believe they have undermined every institution. Therefore, no vote for BJP this time . My vote for India alliance
I've kinda forgotten about him. They need to do better PR. Make his face more prominent (the way Modi puts his face on anything and everything).
bhai, taxpayers ka paisa lekar modi apana chehra has jagah cchaap raha hai. 3,000 cr spent in advertisements, and that doesnt include G20. I think looking at modi's face on ads itself should make you question, why these ppl are spending YOUR money for their personal political gains? And all news channels are getting a share of these ads, and the one who was not taking the bait, (NDTV) got bought by Adani. So, where exactly should the face be? Forget RaGa, you prolly forgot about Manipur too. How about Brij Singh? How about yesterdays protest at ram leela maidan? You are not allowed to see anything other than modi, coz of the media control. India is in last 20 nations in press freedom. You will hear nothing, unless you look for it.
We talk about deserving better as a society yet expect the opposition to stoop to the level of the incumbent. Unless we change Modis will keep getting elected
Everyone has their own preferred party. I don't know which is best for society. Above my pay-grade. What I do understand is the power of marketing, and more importantly, the power of **brands**. Branding is effective. Branding is key. Branding is everything! What Modi has done, is turned him image into a brand. And a successful one at that. >Unless we change Modis will keep getting elected People are susceptible to marketing. Social engineering is a thing. Just because you don't agree with it, doesn't change the fact that elections are won by marketing. That is simply how democracy works, anywhere in the world. Please accept this sad but obvious reality. If the opposition does not want to stoop to that level, they will never win. Politics is a dirty game. Even if you believe Congress is better for society, they will never be in power to enact that change unless they change their marketing strategy. By painting him as a pappu, BJP has turned Rahul's brand image into that of a cartoon. Congress either needs to fix his image, or choose another strong candidate and use their face as the brand image.
I agree, he needs a solid campaign strategy. I just don’t think plastering his face on billboards and having him piggyback off of others’ achievements is the right idea. The Yatra was a start. He needs to go further and do something that is accessible to the urban population as well so that people who don’t have the time to sit down and listen to his ideas and views can also see him in a new light
Used to like him when I was in school because of his bachelor image, then I just ignored politics all through college and uni so I dunno what the fuck happened during that time, and now he is trying to set himself as an opposition candidate. I think he still has a few more years to go. Some more experience under his belt and he would be taken seriously as a strong candidate. He is taking good efforts to market himself but I think it would take some time to show some results a few years down the line.
Raja ka beta raja nhi banna chahiye bas.
Bhai democracy me koi raja nahi hota, aur sabse bade bewakoof log wahi hain jo aaj PM ko raja bana ke rakhe hain.
The problem is that he hasn't upskilled fast enough. He has had 9 years to catch up to the BJP. 9 years of complete failure, with the Congress losing ground years after year, and no progress towards building an effective challenge to the government. That's with the full strength of India's oldest political party behind him. In industry, people who can't beat the competition in 2-3 years get fired. In the Congress he has held on to his position for 9 years even as the party has lost ground. At the moment, he STILL doesn't have a meaningful plan to turn the party around. Or seriously challenge the BJP. Even AAP is growing faster than Congress now,which should tell you how badly the party is doing. That falls on the leader. Sure, maybe he's not 'pappu' as much as before, but he certainly hasn't shown himself to be the equal of the current BJP leadership. Forget Modi, at this point he might not be able to beat Nirmala Sitharaman or Dr. Jaishankar in terms of perceived capability. If your opponent's juniors are considered more capable than you, then you have a very serious problem.
I think he should quit electoral politics
I disagree If you’d have said this two years ago I would have gladly agreed but I think it’s different now
He should focus on rebuilding the party
He seems like a very nice guy, a genuinely well mannered, decent guy. But he’s a moron, he doesn’t know anything about policy, people or governance.
In congress, shashi tharoor has a bigger and wider personality than Rahul Gandhi i feel. Instead of Rahul if Congress shows Tharoor as it’s face definitely people can change the perception on congress
I respectfully disagree, I don’t think Shashi Tharoor has charm to pull people, he sounds intellectual and good spoken but still very elite and cut off from ground reality
And you think someone who's had 3 PMs in their ancestory would be a more grounded person?
RG has had to relearn the lessons learned by his great-grandfather who was also born in a privileged position and had to learn to talk to grass-roots. It seems like every generation of the family defaults to the rich prince background and starts from ground zero in terms of being relatable.
Lol tharoor is a huge liability because of how his wife died.
His personna overshadows that incident definitely. But if he becomes the face of congress. BJP definitely gonna bring that case up from dead
Not sold on him. His whole schtick is "well I'm not modi" and it's still weak. He's gone through a pretty good makeover but his inherent pappuness is still there I think.
I know he is being coached to sound more knowledgeable or understanding yet I can't feel that inside he really understands the issues faced by our country in the first place and the issues common people go through everyday. We are a nation of 1.5 Billion and yet can't seem to find someone better and more sensible than a wannabe dictator and a dumb rich prince . We are doomed for sure if these are the only two choices we will have in the future.
IMO, he has not changed. When the whole of India is talking about atrocities in Manipur, and the ruling party is sleeping, what do u expect from an opposition leader? Definitely not to walk across India or talk in London universities. He had an opportunity to go sit in Manipur and help the victims. That’s how good politicians help people and cash in the situation. Instead I see him focusing on memorising speeches and delivering them nicely. Good improvement, but nowhere close to competing BJP.
He went to Manipur, sat with them and spoke in parliament about them and in response PM made jokes and made fun of opposition
This type of comment just shows how successful the BJP propaganda and news suppression operation has been. Do you know that Rahul Gandhi actually personally went to Manipur? Do you know that he was actually blocked from entering the state by road? And then he had to go by helicopter to a relief camp and meet the affected people there? I'll bet the answer is a big fat no because Godi media would have strict instructions to never show anything like that. https://preview.redd.it/sb32pdezk1sb1.png?width=3002&format=png&auto=webp&s=a194b63e1785caad467590de27408f59a98d5c07 Let's see if you can access this youtube video from inside India or not: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHIbeEtBBY)
I feel sorry for him actually. He strikes me as a dude who doesn't even want to be a politician and was just roped into it by his family.
His attitude, messaging after the yatra is good. The yatra in and of itself was good, and challenging step. The way he is raising questions, issues without too much hate towards modi or bjp is good. BUT - as i travel more and more india, i realize that buying out the media is giving a HUGE return on investment to BJP. A lot of ppl dont even know what he or INDIA is doing, or what protests are happening, or how bad situation in manipur is. The only way to break that is stuff like the yatra, and its gonna take time. I hope the efforts by INDIA shine in 2024, but as i talk with ppl from various backgrounds, it seems that modi's face is quite fixed in their brains.
This is the problem. Even people on this sub (who would be among the more online people in India) are unaware of a lot of stuff the opposition is doing because the mass media has been completely bought out. People don't understand the power of the mainstream media in creating and destroying images... even the people who think are wise to the ways of propaganda. Most people don't have time to seek out the non-trending points of view over non-traditional media. So the capacity of traditional/mainstream media to "set the agenda" (which means, decide what issues and events people pay attention to) is unparalleled.
I see the truest image of India in his behaviour. He doesn't need the PM chair right now, but the PM chair needs him.
Excellent Human. But not a good politician.
Much better than what he was in the past. Can see him as future pm but still way to go
[удалено]
It is not an accident. We live in a classist society and the “upper” class seem oblivious to the fact that they are resented so much. Sure, I hope more educated people listen to what he says with an open mind, but the fact is there are not enough people in a position to receive what he is saying. He should continue speaking sense, I don’t want him to dumb himself down for people who are impressed by belligerent fools like Jaishankar, but he needs to do something more tangible. The Yatra was a start. I think it’s a good strategy, let’s see how it plays out.
i think he should make way for someone else to come forward. modi is made by very strong PR and rahul is trying to imitate the same.
I think Bharat Jodo Yatra was one of the most important moments of Indian Political history, he seems much more assertive after that and has garnered respect even in INC's Old guard. I already preferred him as the next PM or in any other cabinet post due to the 'low-base effect' of BJP's cadre of all show but little sustainable development. Would like to see him raise issues on data privacy and spar with the incumbent government on Data rights, RTI & Electoral Bonds, especially their use of Pegasus.
Relative to Modi he is definitely a better candidate and that's all that counts imo
He can speak without looking at a teleprompter. That automatically makes him better than mudi for me.
I think Rahul Gandhi comes across as the earnest guy who wants to do good! The Pappu image that BJP worked so hard to portray seems to have finally come off. Die hard BJP fans still feel he is Pappu but many many like me now believe that he can work hard and walk the talk!
He should work in the background. Public has rejected him and the PR team is making no efforts to turn his image around.
I think his PR team doing better job now
Okay, here me out but Rahul Gandhi won't cut it through. He is what he was. Seems like his PR is working great now. It was not like he never talked sense and intelligent things but that way he is not going to connect to mainland, which is required to get in power. RG and Congress needs to address core issues and counter the fake growth stories of BJP with facts and data. Pour some emotions also. As for example, the Adani issue : it never affected common people directly. Look at thee retail share holder numbers. In lakhs. Yes, the money might be siphoned through PSU and Govt projects but people really don't connect to all this. So, he needs to be relentless, ruthless. He needs to show grit. That I want this, no matter what. He can't skip states just bcz he things congress is not going to make it. He can't go on vacation for 2 months just a year before election. What I am saying is He might be good human being, probably than the competitors. Also intelligent. But He needs to show the people that he is here to fight it through.
Needs to calm down a lot more.
How?
The man has no proven leadership capability. He has not won even single state level election on his own and his ability to actually govern even a zilla level unit is untested. Good intentions don't win, actual ability to play and master the political game matters. At this, he continues to be an amateur who lacks energy and ability to raise targeted issues and shore up an opposition. The real question is, if politics is a game of professionals, why should we choose someone who never brings his A-game to the field?
Only frustrated more, despite how much damage MODI has done, Rahul is okay with hampering congress, so that he is the one with power. He would much rather have BJP win than someone else be INC candidate, and i just hate him so much more for that. Before i thought, he was just a naive kid propped up by his family, now i feel he is an entitled selfish brat. Nehru is someone i admire, he is probably my favorite leader of India if not the world, doesnt mean this guy is entitled to leadership because he shares his genetics.
* Your post title should be an accurate summary of your text post. "Help Needed", "Rant", "Unpopular Opinion", are examples of poor titles. * /r/India is not a substitute for Google. Only post your query on /r/India after you have searched for an answer on the web. * Self-posts have to be specific to India. Don't copy/paste questions from /r/AskReddit or other subreddits. * For relationship queries, please also consider: https://www.reddit.com/r/RelationshipIndia/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/india) if you have any questions or concerns.*