New Delhi: The Man-Who-Could-Not-Be-PM arrived on the scene and helped with making an onion raita. You’ll know the chaps follow a ritual of shouting out the names of each ingredient at the top of their voice.

A few days later, social media exposed me to videos of Rahul Gandhi doing a jig on stage with the ‘people’. This, as we old-timers know, is a family tradition. Indira Gandhi used to routinely dance with the ‘folk’ that preceded trailers in movie halls.

Rahul’s other move – jumping into the sea and swimming with fishermen. Rather foolhardy, I might say, since you could get eaten by sharks or catch a chill. He got out, dried himself, and then promptly partook in a push-up competition against high school kids.

They have realized that politics is about power, and the Indian voter backs those who exude it. But in various traditions across India, both religious and secular, power can be absolute, or it can be gentle. By publicizing his physical prowess, Rahul is trying to take up the second position. The question is not just whether he will succeed, but also whether he has the stamina and will to keep at it.