2009 was the year of Rahul Gandhi (Flashback 2009)

As the party's youth icon and potential prime minister, Rahul Gandhi brought the most unexpected cheer to the Congress in 2009.

His success as the party's key strategist in the Lok Sabha elections and the oxygen injected by him into the Youth Congress have given hope and a confidence the Congress was lacking.

The 39-year-old son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi was for years a reluctant politician, much like his father who went on to become the prime minister.

Two years ago, at the urgings of the party, Rahul Gandhi joined the Congress team as a general secretary in charge of the moribund Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), pledging to make them his instruments of political change.

He closely studied the working of the IYC before charting out his plan of action.

"After taking over, he accepted lots of suggestions and understood very clearly the gap between the common man, the workers and the leaders," said IYC chief Ashok Tanwar.

"He launched a talent search programme to identify young men and women with potential and gave them organizational responsibilities," he said. "The democratisation of the Youth Congress also started."

Gandhi's big idea in the 2009 Lok Sabha battle was to give ticket to fresh faces for seats the party had little chance of winning. The results were spectacular.

Manicka Tagore, Meenakshi Natarajan, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Vijay Inder Singla, Ashok Tanwar, Harish Choudhary and Pradeep Majhi, all candidates connected with the IYC, defeated established players on their turfs.

Many of the party MPs are below 40. The Congress can also claim credit for the largest representation of young leaders in the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi devoted the better part of the year to reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, a politically consequential state where the party had slid to the margins in the past two decades.

His initial forays proved unsuccessful and the party came a cropper in the 2007 assembly polls, winning only 22 seats. Gandhi upped the ante by directly taking on Chief Minister Mayawati during his visits to university campuses and Dalit homes in the state.

With Muslims returning to the Congress fold, the party made a huge turnaround, winning 21 seats in this year's Lok Sabha elections.

Gandhi also influenced the party's decision to go it alone in Bihar after Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan teamed up to give the Congress only a handful of Lok Sabha seats to contest. In the process the Congress showed its mettle.

Congress leaders who attend meetings with Gandhi find him simple, straightforward, hard working and imbued with a vision.

"He has brought a new energy to the Youth Congress and NSUI. His words have influenced all sections of society. He listens to all and does not impose his viewpoint," said Congress treasurer Motilal Vora.

The process of democratisation in the IYC, under which office-bearers were elected rather than being nominated, has enthused youths. Membership has shot up by the thousands. Professionals too have been attracted by the Congress general secretary's promise of equal opportunity.

Another initiative of Rahul is "Aam Aadmi Ke Sipahi" (AAKS), a group of dedicated youths who reach out to poor and marginalized people in villages and cities to guide them about the central government's welfare policies.

"Rahul Gandhi has set a target to complete the IYC organizational elections in all states by the end of 2011," said a Youth Congress leader, adding that the membership drive had been completed in Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.

"By the end of 2011, the total number of elected IYC office-bearers will be about 13.5 lakh," he added.

Offered ministerial responsibilities by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gandhi has preferred to stay in the party to complete the work he has set for himself.

He firmly discouraged an orchestrated chorus from sections of the Congress to be projected as the prime ministerial candidate. To the surprise of many, he made it clear that he backed the prime minister for another term.

(Prashant Sood can be contacted at prashant.s@ians.in)

Last updated on Dec 25^th, 2009 at 12:21 pm IST--IANS