Dynasts have self-illusory opinion about themselves. They create a disproportionate image about their own abilities in their own mind and believe that the universe around them thinks alike. They tend to become megalomaniacs. Rahul Gandhi is no exception. He announced four months ago that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will lose in Varanasi and that the BJP will be reduced only to a couple of seats. He has a disproportionate impression about his oratorical skills when he challenges one of the greatest communicators of his times, Prime Minister Modi, for a public debate. He comes out with outrageous ideas about security, economy and social issues and believes that his views have found mass acceptability. With Prime Minister Modi’s personal acceptability ratings today being close to 70%, Rahul proclaims that he is dead sure that Modi is very unpopular. The irony of every dynast is that he buys his own propaganda even if there are not too many others willing to accept it.
Dynasts have a sense of entitlement. They believe that they were born to rule. Gandhis suffer from this sense of entitlement. The 2014 election was an utter shock to them. Losing to a person of modest origins and being reduced to the lowest ever strength in history, became unacceptable to the dynasty. It took them more than three years to get out of the shock of the 2014 rout. The strategy devised was that Modi had to be fought and removed. He was considered a strong and a popular leader. His delivery systems were extremely clear. He enforced honesty in public life. He was a strong performer on the security front. The ‘Kaamdaar’ was being admired for his work. Unacceptability of a commoner challenging the dynast and defeating him led to both envy and revenge. Rahul’s statement quoted in a media organisation yesterday that “I have dismantled Modi’s image” was a give-away. The only way a dynast with a little acceptability in the country can react to the commoner who defeated him is that ‘I will damage his image.” But how do you damage the image of a person who is riding perhaps at the peak of his popularity? How do you damage the reputation of a person who is known to be incredibly honest? Can image be destroyed by a person who belongs to a family which has been tainted through generations with charges of corruption? How do you claim to have succeeded in damaging the image of a powerful personality where Prime Minister Modi’s acceptability ratings are close to 70% and Rahul is finding it difficult to even breach the 20% mark?
Its clear that Rahul Gandhi concocts falsehood, as in the Rafale case, starts believing his falsehood to be true and eventually dreams that the falsehood has destroyed his opponent. He does not gauge public opinion. He only talks but does not listen. Such people surround themselves with advisors who have also tactically learnt to only give good news to the dynast. Rahul’s attitude is at complete variation with the traditional Congress way of doing things. His revenge against Prime Minister Modi may not succeed. It may well turn out to be a revenge against the Congress.
This article was republished from Arun Jaitley’s blog.
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A megalomaniac is dangerous. A gauche quarter-baked immature ignoramus is national entertainment. Good news to Rahul Gandhi is he now has enough time to pronounce Visweswaraiah right. He also has enough time to learn that potatos won’t change to gold, but change only to chips for the slaughtered congresswalas to munch on and reflect where they got their fatal wounds from. At last, we, the Indians, got not only a government that we deserve but also an opposition, for lack of a better word, we grandly deserve.