Robert Vadra is now an ‘aam aadmi’ Khan Market protester. With a Land Cruiser on standby
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Robert Vadra is now an ‘aam aadmi’ Khan Market protester. With a Land Cruiser on standby

Feeding migrant workers in lockdown, protesting fuel prices, to talking about Rahul Gandhi’s love for India — Robert Vadra seems to be priming for a new role.

Shubhangi Misra    

File photo of Robert Vadra | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

There was a time when Robert Vadra could do nothing right. For a decade, everything he touched turned into gold, but then came a time when the mere association of his name turned everything to dust. Just ask the Gandhi dynasty.

So, he went on to become the genial WhatsApp uncle sending good morning messages. But that was just a brief palette cleanser phase. He’s back again. In the past year, he fed lockdown-affected migrant workers, protested soaring fuel prices, and articulated his desh ki chinta.

You would think he was eyeing a political role. But his social media presence is just too garden-variety. Come to think of it, the fact that Robert Vadra’s social media handles don’t have a blue tick embodies his social media existence perfectly. He is everywhere but commands no real influence.

But that’s changing. Vadra seems to be flexing his muscles to get into politics. He maintains a relatively low profile at 70,000 followers — which is a small following for a person who is a household name in India, and married to a prominent political persona like Priyanka Gandhi.

A glance through his social media accounts will confirm that the Gandhi family’s, and his own, insistence that he is just a humble businessman is no longer true.

On his Twitter profile, you’ll find Vadra visiting temples (most recently the Moti doongri Ganesh temple in Jaipur), talking to the media about issues of the day, doing philanthropic photoshoots, and plastering his face on infographics that offer his two cents on news events. With this, he’s trying to emerge as the most ‘media-friendly’ and social media savyy person in the Gandhi clan.

Also read: What Robert Vadra’s colourful social media profile tells us about him

A politician in the making?

That fact that one of the recent creatives shared by Vadra on Twitter refers to him as ‘desh ki uthti awaaz’ (the outspoken voice of the nation) is surely no Freudian slip, but a deliberate attempt to slowly and gradually put him on the political scene. He’s also been giving some TV interviews where he can be seen opining on the issue of the day.

In early 2019, his account looked like it belonged to a serial WhatsApp forwarder, where he was busy sharing good morning messages, being a fitness influencer, sending positive vibes and wishing people birthdays. This changed in 2020 when there was a palpable shift in the tone of his social media content, as it moved from fitness posts to news interviews, and hot takes on current politics and political events.

But Vadra never takes the Modi government head-on. Except for when he furiously tweets against the establishment when Priyanka Gandhi is involved. Like the time she was roughed up by a police officer in Lucknow during anti-CAA protests in 2019, or when she was again manhandled by cops on her way to Hathras.

Also read: What we don’t know about the crisis in the Congress

Not-so TV friendly

Though he’s probably the most accessible Gandhi around right now, Robert Vadra is disastrous at giving impromptu interview bytes and could soon be deemed the king of bad optics. He recently protested the sky-high fuel prices while riding a swanky bicycle in Khan Market, while his bodyguard slowly jogged behind him and a Land Cruiser followed. This, mind you, was Vadra trying to feel ‘one with the poor’.

“I am here on a cycle because if I don’t identify with the poor, how will I fight for them?” he told India Today. “But there’s a Land Cruiser right behind you, following you, as you ride a high tech bike,” the reporter pointed out, causing Vadra stammer for a comeback. It was painful.

Another hilarious interview of his was with ANI, where Vadra was once again at a loss of words while trying to defend Rahul Gandhi’s statement about Kerala voters being more well-informed than those up North.

An inarticulate Vadra, waiting for the right words to come to him, started on a chain of thought about how diverse India and its people were, with their individual cultures and traditions — only to suddenly segue into Rahul Gandhi’s for Indians.

“Unke dil mein bohot pyar hai dene ke liye sab desh vasiyo ke liye… par Haan agar unko lagta hai, kuch logo ko, Gujarat ke 2 logo ko har cheez diya ja rahe hain…wo hain Gujarat ke hone ke. Par Gujarat ke logon se unhe bohot pyar hai,” he explained. (Rahul has lots of love in his heart for his countrymen, but he feels some people — two people from Gujarat are getting everything. They are from Gujarat, but he (Rahul) loves Gujarati poeple)

This interview is proof that physical training doesn’t necessarily make you quick on your feet, and that it’s a lot harder than it looks to be truly PR-trained.

His exclusive on Disha Ravi with News18 India was also bland, and didn’t reveal anything emphatic or headline-worthy.

Too vanilla

Stalking Vadra online is quite boring — he has no controversies to offer, he makes no sly comments about any politician. Even if he chooses to cycle to office to protest the criminally high petrol and diesel prices, his bytes given to the media or social media captions are barely retweet worthy. Maybe he should sit down for a class with young Congress leaders like Srivatsa or Gaurav Pandhi. The most powerful thing Vadra’s quotes do is make a person yawn.

He doesn’t even retweet or reshare anything from Congress’ official Twitter handle party, doesn’t participate in their hashtag campaigns — effectively doing almost no good for the party in increasing its social media reach. Yet, he takes such elaborate measures to create content for his own channels. However amusing this is, it speaks of his potential of becoming a politician. After all, he does seem to possess an incredible ability to make everything about himself. A disabled person gymming? Vadra is here to share the spotlight. A creative about the menace of sexual violence and efforts to generate awareness around it is incomplete without his face. A snapshot of Uttarakhand flash floods? Of course Robert Vadra is gracing the issue with his thoughts. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, here he is along with Santa on a Christmas creative.

The sassiest thing on his account was possibly a post in which he asked trolls why they are so obsessed with him — reminiscent of the iconic Mean Girls dialogue and Mariah Carey song.

If he’s looking for an entry into politics, especially as Priyanka Gandhi might just contest for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, his social media game remains too vanilla. Say something retweet and quote-tweet worthy, Mr Vadra. Rile up Right-wing trolls, get into Twitter trends, hire a social media manager!

Maybe his social media game becomes stronger once he gets a blue tick on Twitter or Instagram, or officially joins the Congress — even though Vadra has always maintained, and perhaps will always maintain, that he’s just a businessman.

Views are personal.