Amid SIR protest, Rahul Gandhi tries Sting operation on sister Priyanka, she sniffs it
The October sun was beating down on the Akashvani Bhawan complex in central Delhi. It was around 34-35 degrees Celsius. Even the shade of a Banyan tree could only do so much for the Congress leaders who had been sitting there for hours, protesting against the SIR and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leaders had camped there after being stopped from marching to the Election Commission during agitation against CEC Kumar. After hours waiting, munching on rolls from the famed Khan Chacha, a drink was needed to wash it all down. Rahul Gandhi went for a bright-red bottle of Sting, not a can of chilled Red Bull, as one might expect the Nehru-Gandhi scion to chug.
Rahul Gandhi, the white-collar gentleman sweating it out to be a working-class hero, took a swig. Straight out of the Rs 20-bottle. Then Rahul offered the bottle to his sister Priyanka, who sniffed the drink, and decided to let it pass.
The Congress leaders already had a rather eventful day.
Hours earlier, Rahul Gandhi had climbed atop a police barricade, posed for the cameras and basked for glory. The Congress leaders were marching towards the Election Commission before they were stopped by Delhi Police. They had to camp next door at Akashvani Bhawan, which, in the age of podcasts, probably hadn't seen this much footfall. As of 6.20 pm, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal and Deepender Hooda are still camped at Akashvani Bhawan, the home of All India Radio (AIR), from where Jawaharlal Nehru began the momentous address to Indians in June 1947 with the words, "Friends and Comrades".
Now, back to Tuesday. Soon, it was time for lunch. Food bags arrived from nearby Connaught Place's Khan Chacha. They settled under the shade of the banyan tree to dig in. Then, you needed something to wash down the food with. Someone handed Rahul Gandhi a bright-red bottle of Sting. The LOP took the Rs 20 energy drink and had a go. Then, displaying a leader's trait of sharing resources, he offered it to his sister Priyanka. She took the bottle, inspected it and sniffed it. She hesitated. Sting had to wait.
The internet didn't wait. The Hindu's Political Editor, Nistula Hebbar, said, "Priyanka Gandhi [was] rightly reluctant to try it out." Author Rajyasree Sen, took to X to point to the sibling energy, and said, "She [Priyanka] has the expression any sister should have when her brother is trying to convince her to try something decidedly dodgy just to get a reaction out of her. Good sibling energy."
A person on X shared the video and asked, "If your own sister doesn't trust you with Sting, then why should the country...?" A few others went for the inevitable joke about Rahul's choice of beverage, using the internet slang "chhapri" while commenting on him drinking Sting. Another person on X said that the LoP had come out in support of "people who drink Sting". Another person appreciated it, saying, "Rahul had the working-class people's drink."
Sting, the bright-red carbonated energy drink owned by PepsiCo, contains caffeine and taurine. Delhi or Darbhanga, Mumbai or Mahua, the familiar red bottle can be picked up for around Rs 20. It puts it at a different price point from premium energy drinks such as Red Bull, whose can is priced at around Rs 165. The affordability and mass-market penetration have also made Sting the target of a classist internet stereotype. They deride it as a "chapri drink".
Now, Rahul Gandhi, who has spent years trying to build a grassroots political image, probably wouldn't mind being associated with an energy drink loved by millions of youths. The BJP has repeatedly sought to paint Rahul as a privileged politician disconnected from ordinary Indians. On Tuesday, however, after climbing a barricade and sweating through the day, being caught chugging a Rs 20 Sting might have been priceless respite. At least, optics-wise.
So, Rahul drank. Priyanka didn't. And KC Venugopal, sitting there for hours, looked like the protest had delivered him enough of a sting.- Ends
Sushim Mukul is a keen observer, with interest in polity, geopolitics, culture and heritage.
