NEW DELHI — India’s governing party has no shortage of problems: a sinking economy, corruption scandals and a rising anti-incumbency mood among voters. But perhaps the greatest uncertainty facing the party, and to some degree all of India, is Rahul Gandhi, the anointed next-generation leader.

For decades, the Indian National Congress Party has billed itself as the party most capable of holding the fractious country together, while the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty has held the Congress Party together. The family has produced three prime ministers and one very powerful daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, the party president, who has carefully sought to advance her son, Rahul.

But if this is supposed to be Mr. Gandhi’s moment, it is unclear that he wants to seize it or what he will do with it — or if a chaotically changing, fitfully modernizing India is still enthralled with the Gandhi mystique. The Gandhis remain the country’s only national political brand, proving resilient over decades, but their appeal now seems tarnished, just as India’s global luster has also suffered.

To understand Mr. Gandhi’s unique position in India’s political landscape, consider the events of just the past few days: Eager for a jolt of energy, the Congress Party-led government announced a major cabinet reshuffle on Oct. 28. Many analysts thought Mr. Gandhi might take a cabinet post to burnish his credentials as a future candidate for prime minister. But he declined.