Rahul Gandhi’s ‘pappufication’ may be over, beard symbolises image makeover: experts
The Hindu
The real Rahul Gandhi has emerged from the yatra, not a new one, Jairam Ramesh often insists when asked about the image makeover
He went from being the barely stubbled, dimpled politician with neat hair to the man with unkempt locks and an overgrown salt-pepper beard, the image makeover drawing comparisons with Saddam Hussein, Karl Marx and even Forrest Gump.
And that one question — did Rahul Gandhi also outgrow his ‘Pappu’ image during the Bharat Jodo Yatra?
The Iraqi dictator, the German philosopher and father of communism or the wide-eyed protagonist of the eponymous film “ Forrest Gump”, who the Congress leader actually resembles after the end of the 145-day, 4,000 km yatra is open to debate. A day after the Kanyakumari to Kashmir campaign ended here on Monday, several experts, however, are agreed his "coming-of-age" look reflects the larger image transformation he has undergone in terms of people’s perception.
"... The beard has given him a certain degree of seriousness. He has arrived as a man, he is no longer Indira Gandhi's grandson, Rajiv Gandhi's son. He is now Rahul Gandhi, the man. That is a very critical change in how people perceive him today," Prahlad Kakkar, advertising industry veteran, told PTI.
Also Read | Bharat Jodo Yatra has given an alternative vision of politics to the country: Rahul Gandhi
The man dismissed by many as ‘Pappu’ — the moniker imposed by his opponents to reflect their view of him as a non-serious, political lightweight — may have actually outgrown his image as a reluctant, part-time politician and evolved to one who is mature and taken seriously.
Many may argue with the stereotypes of both images he had — the pre-yatra image and the one he acquired as the march progressed — but that is the thing with images. They tend to stick irrespective of whether they represent the reality or not.
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