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By:

Asha Tripathi

14 April 2025 at 1:35:28 pm

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along...

Stop Comparing, Start Growing

Success does not grow in comparison; it grows in focus. Over the years, women have made significant strides in every sphere of life. From managing homes to leading organisations, from nurturing families to building successful careers, women have proved that strength and resilience are deeply rooted in their nature. Financial independence has become a significant milestone for many women today, bringing with it confidence, dignity, and the freedom to shape one’s own destiny. However, along with growth has come another silent challenge — the tendency to constantly observe, compare, and sometimes even compete with the journeys of others. But a crucial question arises: Is it necessary to track the growth of others in order to grow ourselves? From my personal experience of more than two decades as an entrepreneur, I have realised something very powerful — true growth begins the moment we stop looking sideways and start looking within. A Small Beginning I had a flourishing career of teaching abroad, but when I restarted my career after moving back to India, my beginning was extremely small. My very first assignment was a simple home tuition for a single student, and the amount I earned was meagre. There was nothing glamorous about it. No recognition, no large batches, no big earnings. Just one student and one opportunity. But instead of worrying about how others were doing, how many students they had, or how much they were earning, I made a conscious decision—my only focus would be on improving myself. I focused on teaching better, preparing better, and becoming more disciplined and consistent. And slowly, without even realising it, things began to grow. One student became two, two became a small group, and gradually, over the years, the work expanded beyond what I had initially imagined. Looking back today, I can confidently say that the growth did not happen because I competed with others. It happened because I competed with myself yesterday. Comparison Creates Noise When we keep watching others' journeys too closely, we unknowingly divert our own energy. Comparison creates unnecessary noise in our minds. It brings doubts, insecurities, and sometimes even negativity. Instead of walking our own path with clarity, we start questioning our speed, our direction, and our worth. True success grows through focus, not comparison. Every woman has her own story, her own pace, and her own struggles that others may never see. The path of one person can never be identical to another's. So comparing journeys is like comparing two different rivers flowing towards the same ocean — each with its own route, its own curves, and its own rhythm. As women, we already carry many responsibilities. We balance emotions, relationships, work, and society's expectations. In such a life, the last thing we need is the burden of comparison with one another. Instead, what we truly need is support for each other. When women encourage women, something extraordinary happens. Confidence grows. Opportunities multiply. Strength becomes collective rather than individual. There is enough space in the world for every woman to create her own identity. Each of us can build our own niche without stepping on someone else's path. Choose Encouragement Envy weakens us, but encouragement empowers us. Rather than questioning how someone else is progressing, we can ask a more meaningful question: "How can I grow a little better than I was yesterday?" Lift As You Rise Today, after twenty years of experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is simple yet profound — focus on your own work with honesty and dedication, and success will quietly follow you. We, women, are capable, resilient, and creative. We do not need to pull each other down or compete in unhealthy ways. Instead, we can lift each other up while building our own dreams. Because when one woman rises, she does not rise alone. She inspires many others to believe that they can rise, too. And perhaps that is the most beautiful form of success. (The writer is a tutor based in Thane. Views personal.)

Is Priyanka Gandhi the Congress’s Best Bet?

As the grand old party falters, the Congress’ most assured parliamentary voice is forcing a long-deferred reckoning on leadership.

With electoral reverses in Bihar, chronic infighting in Karnataka, and organisational drift elsewhere, Congress can no longer evade the question of leadership. It is in this context that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s measured but firm address in Parliament assumed significance. Delivered during the Winter Session debate commemorating 150 years of Vande Mataram, her speech cut through the chamber’s cacophony with clarity rather than confrontation. Its viral resonance has reignited a debate the party has avoided: has Congress already found its most persuasive parliamentary voice?


The question sharpened after former Odisha MLA Mohammed Moquim wrote to Sonia Gandhi, flagging Rahul Gandhi’s prolonged absences, limited accessibility, and thin engagement with party workers, while urging Priyanka to assume a larger national role. Similar anxieties had surfaced earlier from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, before his eventual defection to the BJP. Moquim’s expulsion from the party may have restored formal discipline, but it sidestepped the real problem: stifling dissent only postpones the reckoning.


Leadership Test

When a first-term MP commands attention across party lines while the designated Leader of the Opposition (LoP) struggles with visibility, the debate shifts from lineage to performance. When Rahul was away in Germany and facing BJP criticism for frequent overseas trips, Priyanka led the Congress in the Lok Sabha. She launched a scathing attack on the government over replacing MGNREGA with the VB Gram G Bill, highlighting its potential impact on rural employment.


This was not an isolated performance. It followed her widely praised maiden speech in December 2024 during the Lok Sabha debate marking 75 years of the Constitution- in a 32-minute intervention, Priyanka adopted a combative yet controlled tone, addressing the Opposition’s principal concerns with precision. She flagged the BJP’s alleged attempts to undermine the Constitution, raised questions over the Adani Group’s growing dominance, spoke to violence against women and unrest in Sambhal and Manipur, and pressed for a nationwide caste census by ensuring that the speech could not be ignored. Rahul himself conceded that it was better than his own maiden speech in 2004. Once may be chance; twice begins to resemble capability. In contrast, even after years of parliamentary experience, Rahul’s recent intervention on electoral reforms was widely seen as long on rhetoric but short on substance.


The contrast becomes sharper against Priyanka’s uneven political journey. She stayed away from frontline politics until 2019, when she was appointed Congress general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the General Elections. Congress, fighting in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, won only one seat - Raebareli, retained by Sonia Gandhi - while Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi. Priyanka escaped serious blame because the dice were already loaded. Her real test came later, when Jyotiraditya Scindia, who had been in charge of western Uttar Pradesh, exited Congress in 2020, and the entire charge of the state of UP was then handed to Priyanka. The 2022 Assembly elections were billed as her moment. She led the campaign, promised 40 per cent tickets for women, and popularised the slogan “Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon.” The messaging was fresh, but the verdict was harsh: Congress won just two of 403 seats, and its vote share fell from 6.25 per cent to 2.33 per cent. Political courage without organisational depth rarely delivers success.


Visible Campaigner

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections offered Priyanka a different role. She did not contest initially but emerged as one of the party’s most visible campaigners, travelling across 16 states and one Union Territory. During the campaign, Prime Minister Modi warned voters that Congress would survey women’s gold, including mangalsutras, to redistribute wealth. Priyanka struck back, recalling how Sonia Gandhi had sacrificed her own mangalsutra for the nation. In Uttar Pradesh, she camped in Raebareli and Amethi- the two Gandhi family bastions, helping secure victories for Rahul and Kishori Lal Sharma respectively. The SP-Congress alliance won 43 of the state’s 80 seats, dealing the BJP a shock and contributing to its reduced national tally. When Rahul later vacated his Wayanad seat, which he had won with around 58 per cent of the votes, Priyanka contested the by poll and won by a thumping margin, securing roughly 65 per cent. Numbers do not explain everything, but they rarely mislead entirely.


Inside Parliament, Priyanka has arguably been more convincing than on the campaign trail. Her interventions have been sharp without being shrill. Priyanka called on Modi to close the chapter on Nehru’s ‘blunders’ and confront the real challenges of unemployment and poverty, flipping BJP rhetoric into a governance test. Rahul’s uneven record makes the contrast unmistakable. As per PRS India, between 1 June 2019 and 10 February 2024, his attendance was just 51 per cent - well below the 71 per cent national average; he participated in only eight debates and asked 99 questions, compared to national averages of 16 debates and 210 questions. Even after becoming LoP in June 2024, when signing the attendance register is not mandatory, he participated in just 11 debates and raised 34 questions against averages of 16 and 74. Measured against this, Priyanka’s attendance ranged from 83 to 90 per cent, with active participation in debates, reflecting a consistently serious parliamentary approach.


Dynasty or Delivery?

This duality defines the Congress’s dilemma. Rahul is criticised for inconsistency and frequent absences. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge, widely respected but constrained, has struggled to contain factionalism. Retaining him largely to deflect charges of dynastic politics has not strengthened strategy. The dynastic tag will persist regardless of leadership, but electoral outcomes are determined by performance, not pedigree. Congress needs organisational rejuvenation and credible parliamentary leadership. If Priyanka combines consistent presence with strategic engagement, she could provide the focus the party has long lacked. Though replacing Rahul with Priyanka cannot be a cure-all, within Parliament she has shown the ability to challenge the BJP with poise rather than provocation. Rahul, despite holding positions on statutory bodies from the selection of the CBI Director to the Central Information Commissioner, has struggled to make a visible mark. In contrast, after the Lok Sabha adjourned sine die, a cordial tea-party photograph of Priyanka with PM Modi, LS Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and others sent a powerful signal: she can forge connections and project influence more effortlessly, gradually stepping out of her sibling’s shadow.


Yet, for Priyanka, the road ahead is full of challenges. She has shown command over parliamentary proceedings and maintained consistent engagement, yet this contrasts with her campaign record—despite tireless efforts in Maharashtra and Bihar, Congress achieved only limited success. This underscores that while she exudes political presence in Parliament, her ability to convert that into mass mobilisation remains unproven. Political hurdles too remain, as her husband’s scrutiny by investigative agencies is a vulnerability. But if she tackles issues that resonate more directly with the common citizen, rather than dwelling on Rahul’s familiar narratives like vote-chori allegations, she could carve out her own space.


In the end, voters hold the verdict. But for a party that has spent a decade waiting for the Rahul project to soar, the answer may already be sitting quietly beside him. When all doors appear closed, sometimes the one left ajar deserves a closer look.


(The writer is a political commentator. Views personal.)


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