The Son, Grandson and Great Grandson votes for Hindi

“We have not eternal allies and we have not perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual and those interests it is our duty to follow “ Lord Palmerstone, British Prime Minister

Internalising this very logic, albeit not in the original context of diplomacy, our political class makes pre and post - poll alliances that perpetuate political interests – mostly personal, sometimes organisational but seldom ideological.

Rahul Gandhi - the son, grandson and great grandson of India’s past prime ministers is showing signs of making this logic stand on its head. Rightly so. It is in his long term interest. The UPA was a post poll alliance; it marked the Congress’s reluctant debut in presiding over a coalition. It did well. Well enough for it to be conceivable that it would legitimately seek to convert itself into a pre poll alliance and get votes on the basis of its performance? Commonly also referred to as ‘Congress +’ the allies were mostly representative of impositions, boundary conditions and ideological dyslexia that the Congress –India’s natural party of Governance – found irksome. It managed to minimise attrition, till it was avoidable. The Congress in 2009 is going it alone in the key Hindi heartland. That is a clear siren from the fog horn. Perhaps this young man , Congresses’ supreme leader in waiting (shy of 40 years, he is young by every definition) , is rolling the dice for a national revival. The questions are obviously about the timing and not the intent

If the Hindi heartland gamble does not pay off for Congress then in the couple of years that will follow with a very challenging economy, it may find itself saddled with the blame /incumbency .

Better to assess now and assert later!!