Rahul: The making of a politician

AMETHI/SULTANPUR: Politics-watchers were stunned by the overnight transformation of Rahul Gandhi. Where the uninitiated Rahul would have ducked the public glare in discomfort, his new avatar looked as though he was born for it.
And if it was action that the crowds wanted, action it would be.
Consider this bit of histrionics. En route to Sultanpur in their convoy, the brother-sister duo jumped on to the roof of their Qualis, much to the delight of the people, who shrieked in excitement, shouting slogans, stopping them and beseeching them to accept flowers, say a few words and so on.
Rahul also made it a point to dart into the odd village, to speak a gentle word to the village elder, pat a child, etc.
With so much melodrama, it wasn''t surprising the Gandhi convoy took four hours to wind its way to Sultanpur, where at the collectorate, another throng waited for the family.
As the cars neared the gate, frenzied supporters showered flowers from terrace tops, burst crackers and threw colour. But such was the jostling that it was another 15 minutes before the family could get in.
Inside, pandemonium broke out among the 100-strong gathering of photographers who had waited from 8 am. By the time Rahul entered the collectorate, it was a fee-for-all.
Everybody but everybody rushed in after the young man, and in the melee, he injured a finger. As he started to leave, this correspondent asked him if he had a special message for Amethites: "Yes," he said, "I''m going to work for them."