With Milind Deora announcing his exit from the Congress, only Sachin Pilot is left with Rahul Gandhi now.
When Rahul Gandhi began his electoral politics in 2004, he was surrounded by what was called the ‘Baba Brigade’, who usually occupied the back benches and consisted of Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad and Milind Deora. It seems the timing of Deora’s exit couldn’t have been worse.
At a recent organisation reshuffle of the Congress, Deora was made joint treasurer. He has been closely involved with overseas programmes of Rahul Gandhi. On a day when Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has begun in Manipur, this has given BJP ammo to attack Rahul Gandhi, where Amit Malviya has said “first Rahul Gandhi needs to do Nyay to his party before going on the yatra”.
The Congress’ response has so far been restrained given the fact that Deora’s father Murli had been close to Gandhis. The task of the two-time MP from South Mumbai was to ensure Congress holds on to urban areas where BJP made inroads.
Will Deora’s exit cast a shadow over Rahul Gandhi’s ability to keep the young talent together? Many like Scindia, Jitin Prasad and RPN Singh have criticised the Congress leadership for not giving space to them, with Rahul Gandhi being surrounded by a coterie, which had made him live in an ivory tower completely detached from what is going wrong in the party. While Sachin Pilot has so far hung on but the Congress dithering over the Rajasthan Chief Ministership may not bode well on his future as well. But for now, Deora’s exit has made the party, which wants to go in for yet another makeover for Rahul Gandhi, looks bad.
When Gandhi took charge of the Youth Congress, he pushed for a generational shift which never happened. Many disillusioned young leaders kept complaining that the seniors would not give them a chance or cede space. Deora after repeated defeats had made this point too. He had given up his charge as Mumbai Congress chief to make space for Sanjay Nirupam then. Recently, Deora was upset with the seat-sharing talks of INDIA bloc when Sanjay Raut had trashed the Congress.
With his father having good equations with the Gandhis and across the party, Milind Deora has ensured this legacy continues. This is when he had come in handy for the Congress. The two-time MP from Mumbai South may now enter the Lok Sabha again if he wins on the Shiv Sena ticket.
The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is seen as showcasing the new Rahul Gandhi after the exit of one of his closest aides – Milind Deora.
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