AS CONGRESS CRASHES, ITS LEADER VANISHES

Rahul Gandhi's recurring disappearances expose a leadership vacuum his party can no longer ignore

- BY SWATI CHATURVEDI | Special to Gulf News

Does he run away on result day, avoiding his hapless regional ally because he already knows what the outcome will be? Rahul Gandhi, former Congress president, was apparently in the Gulf when the Bihar election results — a landslide for the Nitish Kumar-Janata Dal United (JDU) combine — came in.

Tejaswi Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, was left facing a family blowup and rebellious workers after the Congress crashed to six seats despite contesting 61. Last time around, it had won 19 seats, while the RJD fell to its lowest ever: 25 seats, down from 75. Similarly, after a disastrous result in Uttar Pradesh following a failed tie-up with Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Gandhi had vanished, leaving a forlorn Yadav to face a press conference alone.

During the Bihar campaign, Gandhi inexplicably went on a long trip to South America.

Political trajectory