Keen observers felt that his logic has its own strategy. It may be recalled that Congress party’s success in 2009 is credited mostly to its good performance in urban areas. Nothing much change was seen in the rural and tribal belts. Except Bangalore, in almost all major urban areas, Congress had won. However, after 2009 polls, various indications show that Congress has been losing its grip on urban voters.

Agitations against corruption initiated by Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and various opposition parties mainly attracted the attention of urban voters. This is likely to adversely affect the Congress prospects in 2014. Not much negative is found among rural voters against Congress. Due to schemes like MNREGA, the party in fact, is making some incursions into rural voters.

By touching issues like corruption, centralized administration, bureaucratic hurdles and power-politics, Rahul Gandhi attempted to win over the hearts of the urban population. He has given clear signals that he is determined to bring political reforms, while since 1991 the focus was on economic reforms only. By shifting focus, he seems to be confident that he can make a point against political opponents.

Rahul Gandhi also attempted to win the hearts of the youth and showed that he is trying to emerge as the lone youth icon in the present Indian political scene. By giving indications that seniors in the party should get ready to give space for youth and promising them a better placement in all fields, he expressed his determination to attract the youth.

Incidentally, he hardly referred to the issues related to women and also land-related struggles. It was his mother Smt. Sonia Gandhi who tried to win the hearts of women by referring to growing atrocities against women and also expressing her determination to get the approval of Women’s Reservation Bill in the Parliament. She also referred to various land issues and stressed the need to understand the concerns of those who are agitating on such issues.