Till April this year, nothing seemed to be going right for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. He led a disastrous campaign in the parliamentary elections last year which handed his party the heaviest defeat in its history. The embarrassment did not stop there. In one state election after another, Congress gradually and wholly ceded its space to its arch-rival, the BJP. Questions emerged about Rahul's leadership as his party lost two of the states it ruled - Haryana and Maharashtra - to the BJP. Electorate in two other states - Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, where the Congress occupied an effective opposition space, also betrayed the party by voting for the BJP. The final nail in the coffin was the national capital Delhi, where in spite of an aggressive campaign by Rahul, the party ended up with zero seats. As the party battled for its existence, obituaries of the Congress were being penned in editorials of national newspapers. The biggest shock came in February when Rahul quietly slipped out for a sabbatical, away from the glares of the national media, at a time when many expected him to overhaul his party's crumbling infrastructure. Nobody knew where he went and suddenly there were a stream of jokes poking fun at the missing Gandhi scion. Is he out for a vacation? Or is he taking time out to ponder about his party's future? Nobody had a clue. 56 days passed. On a sunny afternoon in April, Rahul finally emerged in front of his Lutyens home as cameras clicked on. If the political pundits thought life would go on as usual for Rahul, they were sorely wrong. Because, since his return from the sabbatical, there has virtually been no looking back. From leading padyatras in rural hamlets to making passionate speeches in Parliament, Rahul has spared none. In 10 years, he had spoken all of 7 times. However, in the budget session since his return, Rahul has already made five speeches in 25 days. He has travelled on local trains to Punjab, ate lunches at local fishermen's homes in Kerala and most importantly of all, taken on the government in the absence of a strong opposition leader. As the Congress Vice President continues his battle against the government, here is a timeline of all that he has done in the last 55 days. Take a look. [TIMELINE] April 19, 2015 - In his first public appearance after the controversial leave of absence, the Congress Vice President met farmers in a carefully-crafted interaction and discussed their problems. The next day, he addressed a large 'Kisan rally' at the Ramlila ground in New Delhi to pull punches at the Centre. His mother, Sonia, later told reporters, “I did not hear the full speech by Rahul, but I was told by people it was good.” April 20, 2015 - After the 56-day sabbatical, Rahul Gandhi, who has seldom spoken in Parliament, stirred reactions from all sides with a 20-minute speech on the issue of farmers. He termed the NDA government a 'suit-boot ki sarkaar' (a phrase that has become quite catchy since then) and advised PM Modi to go visit farmers' homes. April 22, 2015 - In yet another short but sharp speech in the Lok Sabha, Rahul targeted the government over the issue of net neutrality - a subject that has been debated aggressively on the internet. He demanded that the TRAI consultation on net neutrality be stopped. April 25, 2015 - Dressed in a crisp brown T-shirt, a visibly-different Rahul trekked his way to the pilgrim destination of Kedarnath. He also paid his respects to the 2013 Uttarakhand flood victims. “Aam taur par mandir mein jaata hoon to mangta nahin hoon. Mein andar gaya, aag jaisi shakti mili (Generally, I don’t ask the God for anything while visiting a temple. I felt a fire-like energy after entering the temple,” Rahul told reporters. April 28, 2015 - To take stock of the farmer situation in Punjab, the Congress Vice President travelled in a local train to Punjab and visited the grain markets. It was yet another outreach attempt by Rahul to meet farmers. April 30, 2015 - A 15 kilometre padyatra in a rural village. Yes, that was Rahul Gandhi's big programme as he visited Vidarbha region in Maharashtra to meet distressed families who had lost their dear ones to suicide in the event of unseasonal rain and hail storms. May 2, 2015 - Hoping to tap into the urban and middle class constituencies, Rahul met distressed home buyers and made it clear that his party is opposed to any dilution of the real estate bill. May 5, 2015 - At long last, the Congress vice president has expressed some affinity for social media. His office opened an account on Twitter and garnered more than 17,000 followers within a few hours. May 12, 2015 - In a charged-up speech in Parliament, Rahul accused the ruling regime of being anti-farmer and anti-poor. Sensing that his party's strength in Lok Sabha may not be able to stop BJP's legislations, he said, “Agar yahan nahin rok payenge, toh sadak par rokenge (If we can’t stop you here, we’ll stop you on the streets).” May 15, 2015 - Rahul's farmer-friendly moves from Bhatta Parsaul in 2012 found reflection three years later as he undertook a padyatra in Adilabad district of Telangana, a district which has witnessed high farmer suicides. After meeting families of five farmers who had committed suicide due to debts and crop failure, Rahul handed over cheques of Rs 2 lakh to them and assured them that the Congress would take care of them. May 19, 2015 - Maintaining his steady dialogue with the government over the Amethi food park in his constituency, Rahul wrote a letter to Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking him to approve the project, thus saving many lives of farmers in the state. May 20, 2015 - As the controversy raged around purported remarks of PM Modi about Indians being ashamed of being born in the country before his government came to power, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asserted that “I am a proud Indian”. It was yet another acerbic barb from Rahul towards the ruling government. May 23, 2015 - Spelling out his stand on the One Rank One Pension scheme, which has been a festering issue for the ruling government, Rahul met former armed forces personnel and asked the government to clear the program as soon as possible. May 27, 2015 - Continuing his trip across the country, Rahul landed in Kerala and spoke for the rights of fishermen. He once again targeted the Modi-led administration for extending the period of ban on trawling and for the government's policy on deep-sea fishing. May 28, 2015 - Addressing a convention of NSUI workers, Rahul seemed as if he was in election mode. He targeted the ruling party and said that the BJP wants to stifle internal dialogue in the country and desires to run India like an RSS shakha. His statements were met with wide applause. May 29, 2015 - Rahul's office on Twitter slammed the HRD ministry after IIT Madras's decision to de-recognise a student body. “Free speech is our right. We will fight any attempt to crush dissent and debate,” Rahul Gandhi’s office tweeted. “IIT student group banned for criticizing Modi Government. What next?” May 30, 2015 - Rahul's social media skills were put to good use as he took on the government on Twitter over the land ordinance. His office tweeted criticizing the government and accused PM Modi of "being in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost." June 2, 2015 - In a reflection of his sabbatical days, Rahul slipped into a brief phase of meditation when he visited Mhow, the birthplace of BR Ambedkar. "He was so immersed that he had to be gently shaken (when it was time to leave),’’ said Bhante Sanghsheel, president of Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Society. June 4, 2015 - At a time when the BJP-led government has been increasingly at odds with NGOs, Rahul, sensing the urgency of the situation, met a group of activists including Priya Pillai from Greenpeace and Nikhil Dey, an RTI activist. June 6, 2015 - At a rally in Kolkata, Rahul rained criticism on both Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well as PM Narendra Modi, questioning their 'friendship.' He also sought to project Congress as the viable third alternative in the state ahead of elections next year. June 7, 2015 - In a sign of his increasing decision-making power within the party, Rahul Gandhi met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and reaffirmed his party's support to the coalition against the BJP in the state elections. Moreover, Rahul's offer is said to have forced Lalu Yadav to declare Kumar's name as the CM candidate for the elections. June 9, 2015 - Addressing a meeting of Congress chief ministers, Rahul said the party must showcase them as the best-run states in the country. June 12, 2015 - “You are a soldier. Your strength should be visible here. You should speak up," Rahul told a group of sanitation workers who were protesting against the non-payment of salary dues in east Delhi. Dressed in a blue denim and white kurta, Rahul sat on the ground among the sanitation workers and listened to their grievances.
