Is Rahul Gandhi a Strong Prime Ministerial Candidate for the Oppn?

On 16 December, DMK President MK Stalin dropped a bomb by saying Congress President Rahul Gandhi should be made the face of the Opposition for the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

This statement was met with silence by a few and denial by the other with SP leader Akhilesh Yadav saying that this maybe Stalin’s view but not that of all alliance partners.

The statement comes at a time when the Opposition parties are uniting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but there hasn’t been any formal announcement for a prime ministerial face.

Talking to BloombergQuint's Tamanna Inamdar, N Ram, Chairman, The Hindu Publishing Group said that there is nothing unconventional about Stalin’s statement instead he pointed out that the party has been consistent with not making a claim for any national position.

DMK is one regional party that is unique in one respect that it doesn’t make a claim for any national position. And Karunanidhi made it clear, even in 2004, when he said Sonia Gandhi should be the face of UPA and presumingly the prime ministerial candidate. There is nothing objectionable about the DMK doing this. It’s their view unlike most of the opposition parties which are somewhat ambivalent.

N Ram, Chairman, The Hindu Publishing Group

Speaking about Rahul Gandhi’s popularity, and his stature in the world of politics, former AAP leader Ashutosh said that it is incumbent upon Gandhi to work and prove himself as within the united opposition, there are leaders who are eyeing the top post of the prime minister.

He also argued that projecting Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate might not help the Congress as Rahul is neither Sonia or Rajiv Gandhi.

Stressing upon the change in trends and data, Sanjay Kumar, Professor and Director-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies said:

Going by the data it is extremely clear that the acceptability of Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate or people liking Gandhi has gone up. And Modi’s popularity as a prime minister or as a prime ministerial candidate is going down. But these upward and downward swings are not in a rapid manner.  

He also added that though there has been a change in Rahul Gandhi’s popularity, the gap between Narendra Modi’s popularity and Rahul Gandhi’s popularity is wide. He also said that he doesn’t see Gandhi posing a strong challenge to Modi at the national level.