Rahul’s return

Both the Congress and the BJP played politics over farmers' distress on Sunday. It was a competition between the two over who is more pro-poor and pro-farmer. No match to the Prime Minister in oratory and stage performance, Rahul Gandhi still mounted a sharp and targeted attack on Modi. Playing on farmers' sentiment, he hit the PM where it hurts the most: the land Bill, which has galvanised the Opposition, and Modi’s irresponsible utterances on foreign soil about “scam India” and dubbing the country “a beggar”. He accused Modi of attempting to dilute the UPA's land law to repay the debt taken from industrialists for electioneering. In retaliatory fire the BJP chose the Congress' weakest spot: the Vadra model of land acquisition. Modi cited his government's thrust on affordable housing and construction of toilets to fend off criticism of it being pro-business.

The Congress used the rally to re-launch brand Rahul, which will have to be marketed against heavy odds. The timing of his 56-day sabbatical has been questioned. The party he is supposed to lead is in dire straits, having lost election after election. The morale of party workers is low. Leaders are fighting to protect their political space and debating who should lead the Congress at this juncture. The old guard is betting on Sonia Gandhi for survival and relevance, while the younger lot backs Rahul. That divide was evident on Sunday as state leaders played one-upmanship: Bhupinder Singh Hooda vs Ashok Tanwar in Haryana; Capt Amarinder Singh vs Partap Singh Bajwa in Punjab; and Sheila Dikshit vs Ajay Maken in Delhi.  Rahul's opponents in the old guard were sidelined, while Modi admirers like Janardan Dwivedi and Shashi Tharoor were missing from the Congress show.

Rahul has important choices to make in the coming days: whether to be a part-time politician or pursue active politics, taking up public issues both inside and outside Parliament; whether to take the old guard along or retire it. The biggest challenge before Rahul right now is how to energise the Congress and deal with the veterans, who won't leave their privileged positions easily.