Rahul Gandhi: Will he, won't he?

But the Congress cannot be unaware of the pitfalls of Rahul emerging from the cosseted bubble, where he currently lives, to the full glare of the media arc lights and the consequent merciless public scrutiny. The reason is that as the heir of a century-old party with a glorious and inglorious past, he has much to answer for, including his take on the person in the Congress he apparently admires the most - Indira Gandhi - and the Emergency which she imposed on an unsuspecting country.

If he comes through with flying colours, aided by his palpable honesty, he will be able to win hearts and minds. But if he stumbles, he will go down along with the Congress. On the other hand, if he stays out of sight and hearing, confining himself to one-liners and five-minute interactions with the media, his fitness for the job will be under a cloud.

Even otherwise, there are doubts on this score for, as Pawar has said that "there is no question of working with Rahul it is a generation gap" and, besides, he is yet to prove his "mettle". The union agriculture minister is not the only senior leader who may be disinclined to work with Rahul. The same may be said of possible post-poll allies like Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik although they may give outside support to the government.

To rope them in, it is possible that Sonia Gandhi may take up the challenge herself - risking the possibility of Sushma Swaraj shaving her head - or ask Chidambaram to be prime minister - if the Congress can cobble together a majority. Whatever happens, there won't be a dull moment around May-June next year.