In an electric 24 hours, the newly-minted Congress President Rahul Gandhi can go from being a Pappu to Sheru, or plunge the depths again, depending on the results of the Assembly election in Karnataka—an electoral battle that has significant ramifications in the run-up to the general election in 2019.
Thus far, Rahul has been precariously swinging in between, of being more of a Billu—cat-walking the electoral landscape ever since he took over the party. In Gujarat, his first real political contest, Gandhi sashayed down the ramp, but demurred being the show-stopper. The Congress made a significant comeback, boosted by the three young disruptors in the state—Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani, Alpesh Thakur—and had it gone for the jugular, it could have stomped home with a decisive victory.
