The highlight of the tour of southern Karnataka was Rahul's questioning of the internal democracy of the party. He said that only the entry of more youth into the party would ensure internal democracy. He even went a step further and said that he would not have made enough progress had he not belonged to the Gandhi family.
While the southern leg of the tour was all about youth and familiarisation, the northern part saw a more mature Rahul Gandhi. It is a well known fact that people in north Karnataka are better informed about politics when compared to the southern part of the state.
The north faces several problems relating to farmers and over here it was Rahul the politician all the way. He spoke about the loan waiver, the need for alternate employment and a host of other subjects as a seasoned politician would.
At Hubli, he broke the security cordon for the first time during the tour, when he jumped out of his vehicle and ran into a crowd of students at a college. This was the first time during the tour that an indication was shown by Rahul that he wanted to be a mass leader. With this exercise, he did manage to win the hearts of the students, who after mingling with him, said that they were inspired to join his party.
The next indication was the tough talk he gave to party workers in Hubli. He gave them an ultimatum of three months to lift the sagging image of the party in north Karnataka and also sought to know why the party had been faring badly in this part of the state.
Image: AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi addresses the gathering in Dharwad on Thursday.
Photograph: KPN Photo
Also read: Ragi rotis for Rahul Gandhi
Advertisement
