Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi could not have had it tougher. After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, his own party leaders have cast doubts over his capability to lead the party back to electoral success.

It can't get any tougher for Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. After leading his party to a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, each day brings a new unflattering quote from a Congress leader.

No one called him a "clown" this time around, but Rahul's close aide and supposed mentor Digvijaya Singh didn't exactly do his protege any favours by telling a news channel: "By temperament, woh sattadhaari vyakti nahin hain. By temperament, woh aisa vyakti hai jo anyaay ke khilaph ladna chaahta hai (He is not a ruler by temperament. By temperament he is a person, who wants to fight injustice)."

Singh was quick to clarify that he was referring to Rahul's lack of interest in power and not his lack of leadership, saying, “I said he is always fighting against injustice and, therefore, he is not for power. He fights injustice. That is the difference between us and him.” But all this word-splitting did little to change the headlines.

As columnist Rajesh Ramachandan notes in The Economic Times, it now seems like Congress leaders are virtually endorsing the BJP-created 'Pappu image'.

"Congressmen ought to be revamping the party and building an alternate image for their leader, Congress leaders themselves seem to be reinforcing the Pappu persona by insisting that Rahul does not want to rule. Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has redrawn the caricature by claiming that Rahul by temperament is not a ruler.... So, logically, if Rahul is a fighter against injustice, he ought to be leading his political outfit from the front. Power is the only logic of politics and if the biggest leader of the prime Opposition party is not temperamentally a ruler, he obviously cannot lead the fight against injustice in politics. Sure, he can lead a NGO and fight injustice, but political change is brought about by people who wield power.

Even this passion for fighting injustice hasn't impressed Youth Congress and NSUI leaders angry at the new internal election format introduced by Rahul.

At a recent meeting held to discuss the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls, youth leaders slammed the top leadership saying they were pushed forward when it comes to taking to streets and braving canes during agitations, but it was only the near and dear ones of the senior leaders who get election tickets.

"Perhaps now Rahul Gandhi would start recognising local leaders and might find time to meet them, which was not the case prior to disastrous LS polls," a senior Youth Congress functionary told PTI.

In Kerala, a Youth Congress functionary dubbed the recent organisational reforms as "Tughlaq-like" and said they had failed to strengthen the party's youth and campus outfits.

Youth Congress Vice-President C R Mahesh said many decisions concerning the organisation were taken without sufficiently consulting experienced leaders. "The national leadership had treated the Youth Congress and the student outfits (KSU in Kerala) as subjects of experiment without testing whether they have the strength to absorb such measures," he said.

Such high-handedness in the name of greater democracy -- however noble-minded it may be -- sits all the more poorly with the party member when accompanied by Rahul's chronic aversion to responsibility.

Weeks after the election results, the Youth Congress had passed a resolution demanding that Rahul be appointed the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, but a reluctant Rahul did not assume the role. On the first day of the 16th Lok Sabha, Rahul was seen sitting in the rear benches of the House. “It will once again send a wrong signal that he is a non-serious politician,” a party leader on condition of anonymity told The Indian Express.

But as is wont with Congress culture, dissent was swiftly put back under wraps. Youth Congress President Rajeev Satav, who was instrumental in passing the Rahul resolution, soon toed the party line saying, "Whatever Soniaji has decided, that is fine."

Even senior party leaders backed down. “Individuals may have their views, but as loyal Congressmen and women, we will all rally around the party leader and give him our unstinting support,” Shashi Tharoor told the daily after Sonia's decision to appoint Kharge.

So it is notable that Digvijay Singh raised a seemingly closed issue in the interview, saying,“Since the Congress is the largest opposition group, Gandhi should have taken up the responsibility."

Whatever the spin PR hacks may put on it, the churning dissent and anxiety is spilling over into public view. And some Congress observers think this is a good thing -- irrespective of its effect on Rahul's image. Bhaskara Rao, a New Delhi-based political analyst told Mint, “Singh’s comments are merely a different point of view. Party leaders were not saying this earlier and now they are. Right now the image of the party is not important. Cleaning up the rusted communication channels should be the priority."

Rahul, meanwhile, is reportedly holidaying out of the country.