With just around a year to go for the 2024 General Elections, Rahul Gandhi appears to have acquired the centre stage of opposition politics. Earlier, he managed to reinvent his image through his extensive Bharat Jodo Yatra. Rahul Gandhi has been able to drive the political discourse of the country in a direction which is relevant under present circumstances, suitable to his natural calibre as a politician, and perhaps the most apt alternative to BJP’s formidable Hindutva juggernaut. If anything, the fresh episode of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a member of parliament has only sharpened, and lent credence to his newfound narrative. In his press conference on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi endeavoured to paint himself as a fearless leader who cares the least about disqualification and even imprisonment — invoking an imagery that shows the BJP’s excesses as an ‘anti-democracy’ force. Sensing a somewhat negative sentiment towards one of Asia’s richest billionaires, Rahul Gandhi has also been trying to establish the business tycoon’s ‘deep’ links with the Indian Prime minister, rather ambiguously, aiming ostensibly to create a dent in the saffron party’s corruption-free image. The race among the tallest opposition party leaders has been to take Narendra Modi head on, which would place them on a pedestal to compete with perhaps the most powerful political leader of contemporary India. By going for a ‘witch hunt’ against Rahul Gandhi, the BJP might be helping him over others in this race. The more fervent is the criticism against Rahul Gandhi from the BJP, the more politically relevant he appears. There could be two possible scenarios in this case. One, as Gandhi himself reiterated, the judgement in the defamation case against him was a panic response from the BJP, for he claims to have highlighted an inconvenient question of Modi’s relationship with Gautam Adani. The BJP, while continuously prying for Rahul Gandhi’s apology in one case or the other, has distanced itself technically, saying that the law is taking its due course. But the fact that the defamation suit was filed by a BJP MLA, as also the timing of the judgement by the court in Surat, has raised some serious doubts. There are further questions regarding why a criminal, and not civil, defamation charge was established against Rahul Gandhi, with the maximum term of imprisonment, which also, coincidently or otherwise, happens to be the minimum requirement for disqualification of an MP? The second scenario is that the BJP might be deliberately nudging the INC to push Rahul Gandhi as an alternative to Narendra Modi, thus diluting the rigour of competition from multiple opposition parties. Though this may seem to be a far-fetched speculation, the BJP is usually very delicate with its planning. Whatever be the case, the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi appears to be a defining moment for the grand contest in 2024. The congress has repeatedly expressed its resolve to challenge the defamation verdict, both on legal and political grounds. While it should be best left to the higher courts to determine the legality of the issue, the Congress, on political grounds, has taken up to the streets to make the most out of the ‘opportunity’ in crisis. Rahul Gandhi himself told in his press conference that the BJP has equipped the opposition with a new tool for fighting. However, this political gamble can play out both sides, depending upon which side the legal balance tilts, eventually. Apart from the particularity of this specific legal conflict, the recent turn of events have once again turned the spotlight on broader questions of decriminalising defamation and re-interpreting the Lily Thomas judgement. Defamation laws are one of the last remains of the colonial-era system, and should have no place in the present time and age. The trajectory of the 2024 General Elections is taking shape. Will it eventually boil down to BJP vs INC contest, predominantly? Possibilities cannot be ruled out. It will be interesting to see the role and position of other prominent parties and leaders. As for Rahul Gandhi, the road will not end here even if the worst possibilities take the shape of reality. This might just be the beginning of an honest politics Rahul Gandhi is capable of, devoid of much political craft. This has the potential to strike a chord among the masses as well.