THE VERDICT | RAHUL OR RAJIV?
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Verdict: Rahul, a better politician than Rajiv?
Published on Wed, May 20, 2009 at 07:30, Updated on Wed, May 20, 2009 at 16:29 in 
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Rahul Gandhi is the Congress party’s shining star. He convinced the party to fight Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh alone, and reaped a harvest of 21 MPs.
Rahul, 39, was the party’s star campaigner, holding 106 rallies across 230 constituencies in the country. He wooed the youth, rejuvenated the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, and spiritedly defended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the BJP’s attacks.
The Congress general secretary, who became MP for the first time from Amethi in 2004, spoke about Dalits, development and the youth. His strategy seemed to have worked well: in Uttar Pradesh the Congress has 12 more MP since 2004 and the party is full of confidence after being resigned to playing a bit role in the state for years.
Has Rahul proved himself as a politician? Is he a better politician than his father, Rajiv Gandhi? CNN-IBN’s Sagarika Ghose asked this to BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal, Vinod Sharma, political editor of the Hindustan Times, and Congress Lok Sabha MP Sandeep Dikshit.
“The Congress looks at Rahul Gandhi as a person who has huge amount of potential. There is a lot in him and in his own quiet little way he has turned the party around. He has proved his mettle,” said Dikshit.
Don’t “eulogise” Rahul, said Mittal. “Nothing succeeds like success and nothing fails like failure. Every state has its own politics--the Congress has not win in Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh,” he said. “The Congress won just two seats in Bihar--why didn’t Rahul’s plan (of fighting elections alone) work there?”
Mittal claimed the upper castes in Uttar Pradesh voted for the Congress after trusting Mulayam Singh Yadav and then Mayawati in earlier elections.
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Rahul is not at all a gret politician.........they get elected from Rai Bareli and some of the other states only
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Rahul Gandhi definetely is a true visionary leader who has the capacity to turn dreams into reality.Rahul factor was one
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Rajiv himself was politically immature.I do no think Rahul is better than him.Rahul's wooing Nitish,the Leftitsts and even Jaya when
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Its pretty much evident from the statements from BJP leaders that they are still in shock of the election results.They
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Rahul Gandhi has done quite well in rejuvnating the country,s youthHe moved across the country & was astar compaigner
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