Rahul: Making of the new Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi is here, and he is here to stay. By taking on the Tiger in its own den, one of India's most promising young politicians has once again proved his mettle. Defying a call to disrupt his Mumbai visit over remarks that slammed the Shiv Sena's Mumbai-for-Maharashtrians agenda, a calm and composed Congress General Secretary cocked a snook at the Thackerays by taking time off during his short stay in the city to stop at an ATM in Santa Cruz and also board a local train.

Drastically changing the arrangements made for him in Mumbai, Rahul hopped onto a local train at Andheri to make his way to a Ghatpokar slum. His unscheduled train journey sent the Railway Police into a tizzy. (Photo: AFP)

A scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Rahul was born on June 19, 1970 to Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi. He has the older of two children, the other being his sister Priyanka.

In this photo, Indira Gandhi is seen with daughter-in-law Sonia and grandchildren Priyanka and Rahul (Photo Credit: Raghu Rai)

Rahul attended Modern School, New Delhi before entering the The Doon School, also his father's alma mater, from 1981-83 before being home-schooled for security reasons. (Wikipedia)

Starting university at Harvard, he got his B.A. from Rollins College, Florida in 1994 due to interruptions in his studies caused by security concerns after his father's assassination. He received an M.Phil. in Development Studies in 1995 from Trinity College, Cambridge. (Wikipedia)

During the lifetime of Indira Gandhi, both Rajiv and Sonia remained low key. Consequently their children too remained out of the public eye. But the assassination of Indira in 1984 suddenly brought the national focus on this young family in a way perhaps they had never imagined. In this file photo taken on November 3, 1984, Rajiv Gandhi (2nd L) is seen with his wife Sonia (3rd L) and daughter Priyanka (C) at the cremation of his mother Indira. (Photo: AFP)

The tragedy of his mother's untimely end thrust Rajiv Gandhi, a commercial pilot with Indian Airlines, into the limelight as the country's Prime Minister. In this file photo Rajiv (2nd-R), accompanied by his wife Sonia (C), daughter Priyanka (2nd-L) and son Rahul (L), are seen offering prayers at Shakti Sthal, Indira Gandhi's cremation site, on October 31, 1989 in New Delhi. (Photo: AFP)

Tragedy once again struck the Gandhi family when Rajiv was assassinated by LTTE activists on May 21, 1991 while campaigning in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. In this picture, Rahul, just 21 at that time, is seen lighting his father's funeral pyre.

Years later when Rahul's sister Priyanka decided to visit Nalini Sriharan, the only surviving member of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination squad, at the Vellore jail in Tamil Nadu, Rahul told mediapersons that the trauma of his father's brutal killing was now a thing of the past. "We have been brought up not to harbour [thoughts of] hatred or violence," he was quoted as saying. In this picture taken on May 24, 1991, Sonia Gandhi (C) the widow of late Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka (R) and son Rahul (2L), turn to chanting mourners during the funeral of Rajiv Gandhi at Shakti Sthal on the banks of the River Yamuna in New Delhi. (Photo: AFP)

Rahul stayed away from public life for a long time after his father's death. He was spotted on a few family occasions like the February 18, 1997 marriage of his sister Priyanka Gandhi with businessman Robert Vadra. (Photo: AFP)

Then came Rahul's first brush with the country's electoral process. He left his job at a financial consultancy firm in UK and returned India to help his mother, by then elected Congress President, and sister prepare for the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. But even then he was content to let Priyanka take the center stage. In this February 1, 1998 file photo, he accompanies his mother Sonia at a Congress Party election campaign rally in Amethi. His sister Priyanka can be seen exhorting the crowds to vote for the Congress Party. (Photo: AFP)

Despite his reluctance to enter active politics, Rahul's growing visibility on the campaign trail could not be ignored. In this February 13, 1998 file photo Sonia Gandhi is seen conferring with her son upon their arrival for an election rally. (Photo: AFP)

In 2003, there was widespread media speculation about Rahul Gandhi's imminent entry into national politics, which he did not confirm. He appeared with his mother at public events and Congress meetings. In 2004 he also traveled to Pakistan on a goodwill visit to watch the first cricket series between the countries in 14 years in a One Day International with his sister Priyanka Gandhi. (Wikipedia) (Photo: AFP)

Speculation heightened in January 2004 about his and his sister's possible entry into politics when they visited their father's former constituency of Amethi, which their mother held at the time. He refused to give a definitive response, stating "I am not averse to politics. I have not decided when I will enter politics and indeed, if I ever will." In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by declaring his intention to contest the May 2004 elections, standing from Amethi. In this March 29, 2004 file photo Rahul Gandhi (L) speaks to an elderly resident as she holds his hand during his visit to Jamon village near Amethi. (Photo: AFP)

At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed. Party officials did not have curriculum vitae ready for the media, such was the surprise of his move. It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's political fortunes among India's youthful population. In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions. His candidacy was greeted with excitement by locals, who had a long standing affinity with the family's presence in the area. He won with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a huge margin as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. His campaign was masterminded by his younger sister, Priyanka. In this April 23, 2004 file photo Rahul is seen sitting on a roof of a car as he shakes hands with supporters during election campaigning in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. (Wikipedia) (Photo: AFP)

In this May 15, 2004 file photo Congress President Sonia Gandhi smiles after being given a rose by her son and newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi during a Congress parliamentary party meeting at Parliament House in New Delhi. Sonia confounded her political opponents by nominating Dr Manmohan Singh as India's Prime Minister, a post that many had expected her to fill after leading the Congress party to a spectacular victory in the 2004 general elections. (Photo: AFP)

Rahul was once again at his mother's side when she announced her resignation from the Lok Sabha and also as chairperson of the National Advisory Council on March 23, 2006, under the office-of-profit controversy. Sonia then vowed to seek a fresh mandate in Rae Bareli, which sent her to power in 2004. She was re-elected in May 2006 by a huge margin of over 400,000 votes. In this May 6, 2006 file photo Rahul is embraced by an elderly woman as he walks among supporters in Rae Bareli District, during electoral campaigning for the by-elections. (Photo: AFP)

Since his entry into active politics, Rahul has shown a special interest in the resurgence of the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh. He was a prominent figure in a high profile Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Although the Congress won only 22 seats with 8.53% of votes, Rahul became firmly established as the next big hope of the party. In this June 19, 2007 file photo school children are seen wearing masks with Rahul Gandhi's likeness on the occasion of his 37th birthday celebrations in Hyderabad. Members of National Students Union of India (NSUI) organised the birthday celebrations. (Photo: AFP)

Rahul was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on September 24, 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat. In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. (Photo: AFP)

Rahul is also seen as the chief architect of the Congress Party's resounding victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. In these elections the Congress is said to have revived itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and the majority of the credit for this turnaround is given to Rahul Gandhi. He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks. In this May 4, 2009 photo, Congress Party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi reads a book while flying over India on May 4, 2009, during campaigning ahead of the fourth of five phases in the Lok Sabha elections. (Photo: AFP)

In the last few years, Rahul has proved himself a 'people's politician' time and again. In Uttar Pradesh and other states, he has made a habit of staying in the homes of Dalits to show Congress is not aloof from the 'aam admi'. In this December 23, 2009 photo he is seen having dinner in a Dalit household, in Goawali village of Jhansi district. Before this he had joined another Dalit family for dinner in a village in Amethi in 2008. (Photo: PTI)

In January 2009 Rahul had also got his friend British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to spend a night with him in a Dalit woman's hut at Simara village in Uttar Pradesh. The village falls under the Amethi Parliamentary constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi. (Photo: AFP)

Rahul has won hearts time and again with his 'common' man approach. In August 2009 the AICC General Secretary took the Metro to reach as close as possible to his 10 Janpath home after he returned to Delhi from Raipur after a two-day visit to Chhattisgarh. Traffic on all arterial roads in the capital had gone haywire for several hours following heavy rains and hundreds of vehicles remained stuck for varying durations in the snarls. Rahul landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and took a detour to the nearby Metro station at Dwarka. He then boarded the underground train that took him to Rajiv Chowk station, about two kms from his home. (Photo: PTI)

Many see Rahul as the most promising among the young politicians likely to guide India in future. In this April 27, 2009 file photo, Rahul is seen sharing the dias with another young politician and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah (L) during an election campaign rally at Anantnag, south of Srinagar. (Photo: AFP)

Besides being politically savvy, Rahul is also noted for his personal style that reminds many of his father. Whether a starched white kurta, natty suits, a bomber jacket or casuals, he has managed to look just right for the occasion.

Rahul has managed to look dapper even when bearded. In this July 11, 2008 photo he is seen attending the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi's house in New Delhi. (Photo: AFP)

There has also been a lot of speculation surrounding Rahul's love life. He is nearing 40 and there is no sign that India's most eligible bachelor is willing to settle down. Way back in 2004 Rahul had talked about his Spanish girlfriend Veronique, who he had met at university in England. But his romantic relationships, if any, have by and large remained out of the public domain.

Rahul in his own words: "I have come to win the heart, not election..." (Photo: AFP)

Rahul in his own words: "The 1984 riots against Sikhs were wrong and people responsible for this should be brought to justice." (Photo: AFP)

Rahul in his own words: "The thought comes to my mind that a lot of work needs to be done. In India there are a lot of poor people. And as a young Indian, it annoys me that we refuse to focus on the real issues and do so only on non-issues. By doing this we distract and slow ourselves down." (Photo courtesy: madrasregiment.org)

Rahul in his own words: "I once asked my father as to why he never launched a counterattack in a case in which he was hounded by the opposition for 17 long years, but he told me that as long as one followed the path of truth, stood on the right track and was clear in his mind about what he was doing, there was no need to waste time and energy on issuing clarifications."

Rahul in his own words: "Who rescued Mumbai during 26/11? The NSG commandos came to Mumbai's rescue and most of them came from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh." (Photo: AFP)