Bihar flashpoint: Rahul Gandhi’s campaign and the BJP’s counteroffensive

For a political party that constantly ridicules India’s Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and questions his relevance, the BJP sure spends a lot of time attacking him and countering his criticism of the government. The most recent row came just days ago when BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya put out a social media post alleging Rahul was on vacation in Malaysia. “Looks like the heat and dust of Bihar’s politics was too much for the Congress yuvraj (crown prince), who had to rush off for a break. Or is it another one of those secret meetings that no one is supposed to know about?”, he said.

Congress supporters hit back, saying it was time to normalise vacations for politicians and that Rahul Gandhi was just like any other person who needed a break. Of course the jury is out on whether Rahul Gandhi should be flying out so often and usually at odd times such as just ahead of the Bihar campaign now, or last year, during the seven-day mourning period following the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.