Rahul has come a long way since 2014, but is a national win close at hand?

Rahul Gandhi emerges as a leader in his own right but is that good enough?

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses the media after the party's win in Assembly elections of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, at the party headquarters in New Delhi. Photo: PTI

Rohit Pradhan

Last Updated : Jan 03 2019 | 10:46 AM IST

It has been one year since Rahul Gandhi assumed the presidentship of the congress party. In a piece I wrote for this website in December 2017, I had underlined the three principle challenges Mr. Gandhi faces as he attempts to challenge Narendra Modi. As India welcomes 2019 and enters the electoral season, it is time to dispassionately evaluate how successful Mr. Gandhi has been.

The first question: could Rahul Gandhi affirm that he is a serious politician? It is a marker of how trivial Mr. Gandhi’s political journey has been that this was considered a serious criticism. Nevertheless,