As far as conspiracy theories go, how’s this one to go as a Friday special along with the kebabs? It goes something like this: the Surat session court’s dismissal on Thursday of Rahul Gandhi’s plea for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his 2019 ‘Modi surname’ remark – ‘How come all thieves have the name Modi?’ – was actually part of a larger Congress plan. Knowing that there would be some offended person out there who would file a criminal case against the Congress leader, it would enable Gandhi to not be a candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Rahul Gandhi has been aware for some time now that by taking himself out of the electoral fray would automatically put BJP at a serious disadvantage. With no Gandhi in the fight, the binary of RaGa and NaMo would no longer stand.
Gandhi-bashing has been the top tool in the ruling dispensation’s toolkit. Minus him, Nehru may not be enough to garner the support that BJP’s best weapon, Rahul Gandhi, has provided since 2014. Walking away was not an option. That would only look like abandoning ship. But having the court take him off the polls is an ingenious move at a crucial juncture to the build-up that will lead to Kurukshetra 2024. The fact that it has taken so long – some four years – is the only surprise. Or so this ingenious conspiracy theory has it.
