There lies no doubt that Indira Gandhi to Rajiv to Sonia to Rahul --- all have/had attained the Post of Prime Minister or Party President smoothly just because they are/were privileged enough to take birth or wedded to the Nehru family. But at the end of the day the fact also remains that Indira to Rajiv had won elections not through brute force or might of military power so as to lead the Central Government ; but by winning the hearts or votes of the Indian electorate through the free and fair democratic process.
Be it 2004 or 2009, it is the common people who had voted Sonia-led Congress to power in New Delhi. Still if the Gandhis are constantly character-assassinated through the hue of “Dynastic regime”, none other than the free will of the Indian electorate gets continuously maligned, mocked and abused as the Gandhis did not elect themselves, rather people elected them to power! Innumerable people vote for Congress thanks to its policies on various issues or by getting attracted by the personality/charisma of its leaders, many of whom might happen to be of a particular family as well. But does that mean that people vote for a particular dynasty! Also there exists a large section of people who vote for Congress not due to any special affinity, but just to keep the Hindutva brigade at bay.
Even the institution of elections, democracy and Constitution also get barbarically assaulted through such bankrupt cheap rhetoric of undermining the electoral victory of Congress as "establishment of dynasty". BJP should also not forget that it is the people who threw out the saffron regime of “India Shining” to bring in the “Family” in 2004! Do the self-declared guardians of the Constitution mean to say that the electorate are all “bunch of fools” and so they get/ got “brainwashed” to elect Congress in the Centre or various states? If BJP wins, it is the “blessing of people”; but if Congress wins, it is the “dictatorship of dynasty”! Head I Win, Tail You Lose; isn’t it!
And if the Gandhis form epitome of “Dynasty”; what do the Dhumals Mahajans Mundes Khandus Chowhans represent( to cite just a few )! What about the progeny of Raman Singh Rajnath Singh Kalyan Singh Maneka Gandhi BS Yediyurappa Yashwant Sinha Vasundhara Raje in this regard! Why have the "anti-dynasty" force gleefully brought the likes of Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasadas in their fold! Perhaps "dynasty doesn't kill democracy" when it gets pursued by the BJP! Why did BJP trade with PDP (in Jammu and Kashmir), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena in the recent past though family members of the original patriarch of those parties enjoy an upper hand! Why has BJP aligned with "dynastic" Jannayak Janta Party and enjoying power in Haryana! If BJP is so "allergic" towards "dynasty", why did it indulge in a coup of sorts(though failed ultimately) by roping in Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit as Deputy Chief minister so as to grab the governance of Maharashtra through the back door! All dialogues of "dynasty" promptly vanish in thin air if even a faint scent of power gets perceived in the political horizon! In the context of West Bengal, the nephew of Mamata Banerjee signifies "dynasty"; but the clan of Arjun Singh or Adhikaris bear testimony to "meritocracy"! Hypocrisy to the power infinity. It must be remembered that if you point a finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you!
If the Congress party is such a "spent force" that it can never come back to power in next 100 years, then why waste "precious" time, energy and vocal cord in beating such a "dead horse"!
Actually BJP knows very well that in the present juncture, Congress/Rahul Gandhi is it's biggest or only obstacle in their path of future victories in national politics. So the whole party machinery always works overtime to malign and character assassinate him in vulgar terms including psychologically-shattering "Pappu"! If Rahul is such a "Pappu", why doesn't Narendra Modi or BJP afford to ignore him! Their continued diatribe against Rahul proves how fearful of this "Pappu" BJP is!
Just because the party has lost two consecutive general polls in 2014 and 2019, Congress has been "eternally" rejected by the people! Hadn't the BJP also been subjected to the same fate in 2004 and 2009! So did those two consecutive losses in general polls land BJP on its deathbed! If BJP has managed to make a stupendous comeback despite those electoral setbacks, there lies no reason to believe that Congress would not reestablish itself at national level! It must be remembered that consecutive failures in general polls( 1996 1998 1999) didn't consign Congress to deathbed! Rather it came back to Central power after 8 years! So the undemocratic dream of "Congress mukt-Bharat" can never materialise in practical terms. And this is the very reason Who's Who of BJP are always so much wary of Rahul Gandhi and Congress, thereby inspiring them to religiously attack the "family" in filthiest of terms; though the party has always won power through the path of democracy banking on free will of people.
Not to forget that the party allegedly on its deathbed is presiding over the governance in Punjab Rajasthan Chhattisgarh and sharing power in Maharashtra and Jharkhand!
Although the BJP is leading the coalition in Goa and Manipur, yet the fact remains that Congress has bagged more seats than the BJP in both of these two states! Also people are well aware how the democratically elected Congress government of Madhya Pradesh was toppled through backdoor by the BJP! Thus far from being on its deathbed, the Congress is practically giving nightmares to BJP day in and day out!
(The views expressed are personal)
