BY SANJEEB KUMAR SAHOO
Some Congress Party members, supporters, and Congress-supportive journalists are giving credit to a brand manager for the rise of Rahul Gandhi’s political career. However, the fact is that, in my view, the rise of Rahul Gandhi’s political career began with the Bharat Jodo Yatra on the morning of September 7, 2022.
He even came close to becoming Prime Minister after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but “Kismat ko kuch aur manzoor tha” (perhaps fate had something else in store for him).
I believe God wanted to expose many politicians, businessmen, and bureaucrats, and that God has been exposing many of them over the last two years, particularly since 2025. After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and his defeat in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, I believe God has been creating opportunities for Rahul Gandhi ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
In my view, this is because God sees his good heart, honesty, and hard work in politics, even after losing the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in 2019, which had been his family’s traditional constituency. He has continued to face criticism and attacks from his political opponents positively since 2019, and he has maintained his love and respect for everyone, especially women.
So, trust me: in my personal view, the present, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, and the years ahead could bring significant opportunities for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party.
Trust me, it is totally wrong to say that the TVK–Congress alliance happened in Tamil Nadu because of Congress member Pravin Chakravarthy. The fact is that TVK and its founder, C. Joseph Vijay, wanted to form an alliance with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party because Vijay’s political views were aligned with Rahul Gandhi’s views.
The TVK–Congress alliance happened because both parties needed each other for their respective political interests after the political situation that emerged following the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and in anticipation of the future political climate.
After the results of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections were declared, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-politician Vijay, secured approximately 107–108 seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, falling short of the 118 seats needed for an absolute majority.
TVK founder C. Joseph Vijay wanted to form a government under his leadership and become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, with the support of the Congress Party and other like-minded political parties, such as the VCK, IUML, MDMK, CPI, and CPI(M). The government was later formed under the leadership of C. Joseph Vijay, who became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
The Congress Party, meanwhile, wanted its MLAs to have a role in policymaking and decision-making, which it had not been able to secure under the DMK government, despite being part of the ruling alliance from 2021 to 2026.
During his tenure as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2021 to 2026, M. K. Stalin did not include any Congress Party MLAs in his Council of Ministers. After forming an alliance with TVK following the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election results, two Congress MLAs, Rajesh Kumar and P. Vishwanathan, joined the Vijay-led government to participate in policymaking and decision-making. They are now serving as ministers in the Tamil Nadu government led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.
However, so far, Congress member Pravin Chakravarthy appears to be the sole beneficiary of the alliance. Pravin Chakravarthy received a Rajya Sabha ticket and was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, representing Tamil Nadu, on June 11, 2026, with the support of TVK. As a Congress alliance partner, TVK allotted the vacant seat to its alliance partner, the Congress Party.
I am still trying to understand the reasons behind this decision and Pravin Chakravarthy’s contribution to the Congress Party that led a top Congress leader and India’s Opposition to select his name for a Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu this year. However, as the editor and founder of National Political Mirror, I do not consider him a political figure who may be good for Rahul Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi’s team, or the Congress Party.
These days, Pravin Chakravarthy appears to be promoting himself through NDTV and its journalists. I personally witnessed a meeting between them at a time when Rahul Gandhi was strongly critical of NDTV and its owner, Gautam Adani. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly explained why he is critical of Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.
During the Chhatron Ki Goonj event in Indore on September 19, Rahul Gandhi spoke about Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. However, Rahul Gandhi and his team removed Mukesh Ambani’s picture from the presentation slide during a press briefing at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi concerning electronic voting systems and the Election Commission on September 24, 2026. However, Rahul Gandhi and his team included Gautam Adani’s picture on the slide during the same press briefing at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi on September 24, 2026.
I have said many times that neither I, the editor and founder of National Political Mirror, nor National Political Mirror itself is hungry for name, fame, or TRPs. So, now let me come to the point.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I already mentioned something about Rahul Gandhi’s campaign managers, brand managers, and supporters, as well as Congress Party members and supporters, in the first paragraph. But I would still like to add that, in my view, God wrote a new chapter in Rahul Gandhi’s political journey on July 20, 2026, opening new avenues for his political growth, popularity, and potential success in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
I believe that God also wrote a script on July 20 through the lathi-charge decision. Whoever took the decision within the Narendra Modi government to order the Delhi Police and central police forces to use a lathi-charge and tear gas is, in my view, ultimately responsible for contributing to Rahul Gandhi’s political rise and potentially weakening the political standing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP, and its allies over the next couple of years.
In my view, the person who ordered the lathi-charge may have unintentionally opened new avenues for Rahul Gandhi to potentially become Prime Minister after the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Whatever others may say, I believe that many people ultimately act in their own interests.
And trust me, when people talk about student movements in the future, they will talk about July 20, 2026, when students and protesters marched from Jantar Mantar toward Parliament in New Delhi. The Delhi Police and central police forces dispersed the protesters using a lathi-charge and tear gas as they demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET examination irregularities and paper leaks.
Before 2020, I had little belief in destiny, but I had strong faith in God. However, after the June 18, 2020 incident, many of my doubts became clear over the following months. I then realised that God never takes the blame upon Himself, and that we often understand the meaning of events only days or even years later.
For a long time, I blamed fate for the untimely death of the lady of my heart, Ms. Deepshikha Singh Rana, the only daughter of the late Lt. Col. Jinendra Kumar Singh Rana (V). But after reading, researching, and speaking with many people, I came to understand that everything happens for a reason, that some things are written and destined, and that God does not do injustice to anyone, even though, at a particular moment, we may feel that God has done injustice to us.
And I am sharing a strong view that I learned from my mother, who taught me an important lesson months ago when I was blaming God for my father’s death and the untimely death of the lady of my heart.
She asked me, “Why are you blaming God? I am his wife, and I am not blaming God despite losing my husband at the age of 28. I struggled a lot to take care of you and your brothers and sisters.”
She gave me an example:“Aata chhanne wali channi mein hazaaron chhed hote hain; waise hi tumhari problem face karne wale bhi hazaaron hain. Tum akele nahi ho jo problem face kar rahe ho. Aur beta, tumhare toh sirf baap nahi hain, lekin kisi-kisi bachche ki maa bhi nahi hai, aur kisi-kisi bachche ke maa-baap dono nahi hain.”
Just as a flour sieve has thousands of holes, there are thousands of people facing problems like yours. You are not the only one going through difficulties. And, son, you may not have a father, but some children do not have a mother either, and some children have neither a mother nor a father.
After listening to my mother, I stopped blaming God.
So, the point is that neither a political manager nor a brand manager can make someone a politician, MLA, MP, Chief Minister, or Prime Minister. Ultimately, your political journey depends on how much hard work you put into your profession and how consistently you remain dedicated to it.
So, I strongly believe that Rahul Gandhi is not where he is because of any brand manager. He is where he is because he continues to do what he believes in, with dedication, trust, hard work, passion, and conviction, despite suffering his biggest electoral loss when he lost the Amethi parliamentary seat to BJP candidate Smriti Irani in the May 2019 general election.
And believe me, he is going to receive in the coming years what he works for every day. At present, destiny appears to be indicating that Rahul Gandhi’s political career is bright and successful. He may become a hero and an inspiration for many young women and millions of Indians.
Since I have also said that, as a journalist, my duty—and the duty of anyone who is a journalist—is to work in the national interest, I have, since 2014, been working as a voice of opposition leaders and opposition political parties.
However, I am aware that many opposition political party leaders have secret understandings with the ruling party, and that some opposition political party leaders also have business connections with top businesspersons. But trust me, I will expose all opposition political party leaders who have business connections with top businesspersons when the right time comes.
At the same time, I also support the good welfare schemes and initiatives of the Narendra Modi government. However, I also criticise the Narendra Modi government whenever I find that it is doing something wrong.
Since I have also said that, as a journalist, my duty—and the duty of anyone who is a journalist—is to work in the national interest, I have, since 2014, been working as a voice of opposition leaders and opposition political parties.
However, I am aware that many opposition political party leaders have secret understandings with the ruling party, and that some opposition political party leaders also have business connections with top businesspersons. But trust me, I will expose all opposition political party leaders who have business connections with top businesspersons when the right time comes.
At the same time, I also support the good welfare schemes and initiatives of the Narendra Modi government. However, I also criticise the Narendra Modi government whenever I believe it is doing something wrong.
Even a judgment by Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya of the Calcutta High Court in 2019, in which he stated that people have the right to criticise the ruling government, has reinforced my belief that I have the right to criticise the ruling party.
The Calcutta High Court observed: “The people always have a right to criticize the dispensation running the administration of the country, being the Government or the Executive. Even the Judiciary and the Legislature are not exempt from fair criticism. That is what the freedom of speech and expression, as enshrined in the Constitution, is all about.”
In the course of the judgment, the Court also added that criticism helps in good governance and keeps a check on public functionaries, providing a touchstone for the Executive to assess the worth of its public endeavours.
Lastly, I would like to conclude by sharing what I wrote in my editorial in the April 10, 2022, edition of National Political Mirror. I wrote the following editorial and made this suggestion long before the Bharat Jodo Yatra:
“Not just Congress, but any political party fighting BJP should stand strong with the people and make it a mass movement to pose an even challenge. The leaders should learn a leaf out of our pre-independence struggle on how mass movements made an impact on British rule. Twitter and social media trolling and hashtag wars are necessary to condition people’s brains, but are not sufficient for victory. It takes more than that.
Look at the Champaran Satyagraha of 1917, not many leaders were involved in the movement, only Gandhi and peasants growing indigo with barely any payment for it. It was the first Satyagraha movement, for demanding legitimate price for their crops, led by Gandhi in British India. It took the form of a peasants rebellion in no time. The movement started on April 10, 1917
Gandhi’s main assault came as he was arrested by police on 16 April, on the charge of creating unrest and was ordered to leave the province. When asked by magistrate George Chander at Motihari district court on 18 April, to pay a security of Rs. 100, Gandhi humbly refused to be constrained by the diktat. Hundreds of thousands of people protested and rallied outside the court demanding his release, which the court unwillingly did. The case was subsequently withdrawn by the British Government.
Gandhi led organised protests and strike against the landlords, who with the guidance of the British government, signed an agreement granting more compensation and control over farming for the poor farmers of the region, and cancellation of revenue hikes and collection until the famine ended. The Champaran movement concluded with the introduction of ‘Champaran Agrarian Bill’ consisting of almost all recommendations Gandhi Mission had made and it became the Champaran Agrarian Law in 1918. This was for the first time that civil disobedience in India made the British adjust their “solipsistic attitude”.
A similar movement, almost 16 month long, was recently staged by farmers, at Singhu Border at the outskirts of the national capital, protesting against farm bills. Finally bills were repealed by this ‘over solipsistic government’, and ensued farmers’ victory.
The fight may take longer for Congress, but with a mass movement, victory is certain.”
