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Rahul Gandhi lost. Again.
The Bihar elections may have been a battle between chief minister Nitish Kumar and chief minister hopeful Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, but for the armchair election watcher it felt like this script had only one star, a tragicomic one at that, Rahul Gandhi.
And at this point, following his elections must feel like reading Jerome K. Jerome’s short story ‘Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture’. A story about one man’s absolute confidence to put up a picture and leads to chaos and failure every time.
Bihar and Rahul Gandhi's situation was no different.
Rahul Gandhi’s electoral scorecard now reads 95 defeats in two decades, five short of a century, many were quick to point.
In August this year, Rahul drew crowds at his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar and spoke of “restoring electoral rights” . The Yatra was supposed to be the narrative pivot, a grounded, people-to-people connect.
It was supposed to be the moment he finally hung the picture straight.
The march drew large crowds across Bihar, especially in rural belts where young voters and women turned out in significant numbers.
But the enthusiasm of the Yatra did not translate into votes, the result day trends show.
Naturally memes rolled in.
One viral picture had Allu Arjun’s pose from the film Pushpa saying, “Teri rally mein aya toh tu mujhe apna voter samjha kya? Nahi, tere comedy ka fan hoon.” [You thought I was your voter because I came to your rally? No, I’m a fan of your comedy].
A clipped mock interview travelled fast:
Journalist:Kya kiya?
Rahul Gandhi: RJD ki naaiyya dubo diya.
This was with a picture of Rahul taking a boat to the middle of a pond in Begusarai, Bihar, to participate in a traditional fish-catching activity with locals.
“Rahul Gandhi = GLOAT. Greatest Loser Of All Time,” one user wrote. Another said: “If Congress ever collapses, remember — no storm, no wind, only Rahul Gandhi.”
The calendar made it worse. November 14, the day Bihar started declaring numbers, is Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday. Rahul’s great grandfather and the first PM of India. Cue more jokes.
“Birthday celebration ready tha… par Bihar voters said ‘No entry!’ Aur haan, date Modi ne nahi rakhi thi!”
Meme-makers also chanced upon the significance of the day. “Happy children's Day to Rahul Gandhi, because he is a child who is not able to understand the politics”, one wrote.
Brutal.
BJP supporters piled on.
A satirical “emergency alert” read: “BREAKING: Rahul Gandhi is going to take jal samadhi. Request BJP workers to save him. He is our star campaigner.”
The numbers were as harsh as the jokes.
One used comic desperation: “Saar Rahul Gandhi comeback saar, Saar Modi government danger saar. Believe us saar Rahul Gandhi strong leader saar.”
And that’s where Jerome K. Jerome fits perfectly.
In Three Men in a Boat, Uncle Podger begins a task, hanging a picture and then he turns it into a demolition project. But confidently keeps announcing success despite the chaos.
Rahul Gandhi’s election cycle has started to resemble that chapter, at least for meme-makers.
