The Prince is Dead, Long Live the Leader

Often when I am at loss of what to write about in politics, or more how to write it, I have an imaginary conversation with my old colleague, the late Rajni Kothari. As a political scientist, Rajni was acute. He was a remarkable listener. He could listen for hours, taking notes on the back of envelopes. Most of all, Rajni had a way of giving wonderful advice. He told me once, "Don't listen to the expert. The expert is the master of the predictable. Go out for a walk and gossip with a fresh face. Make that the beginning of your thinking. Remember, you have an advantage. You are not a political scientist."

Invited to write on Rahul, I followed Rajni's advice. Rahul summons the predictable and yet remains elusive. I saw a picture of him at the HT leadership summit, and he looked as