The will he, won’t he suspense is over. In all probability next week Rahul Gandhi will take over as the new Congress chief from his mother Sonia Gandhi, the longest serving president in the history of India’s Grand Old Party. The ‘reluctant’ politician has finally taken the leap, completing a generational change in the party.

It was in Jaipur, in January 2013, when he took over as the Congress vice-president, that he first articulated his dilemmas and the burden he carried of belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family – which had tears rolling down the faces of many hardened Congress leaders.

Rahul’s ‘reluctance’ was initially seen as a desire not to grasp power, with self-effacement usually revered in India. I remember watching his roadshow pass through Allahabad, standing next to a group of young software engineers who had taken leave from office to get a glimpse of the man who might lead India one day.

In 2009 the late Digvijay Singh (NDA minister) had prophesised that Congress would win because many BJP leaders had told him that the youngsters in their families were voting for Congress – and looking at Rahul!

The story changed soon thereafter, and Rahul began to be called the ‘pappu’ of Indian politics, who could do nothing right. Worse, given his penchant for ‘running’ abroad when he was needed back home, people began to feel that he did not have what it takes to run India, a very difficult image to dismantle.

Rahul takes over at a time when challenges before the 130-year-old Congress are monumental, even existential. For a start, he will have to contend with negativity about the ‘dynasty’ itself. In the past Congress turned to the Nehru-Gandhi family because of their ability to get votes. This is under question now, with the party having plummeted to an all-time low of 44 Lok Sabha seats. Besides the India of 2017 – with its large pool of young voters deciding electoral outcomes – is increasingly questioning the politics of entitlement.

And yet, paradoxically, Congress cannot do without one of the Family leading the party. Theoretically speaking, it is possible. Practically, as things stand, the party could split and be further weakened, were this to happen. Hence, Rahul Gandhi.

Two, Rahul faces the stupendous task of rebuilding the Congress organisation which has been dying over the years, and this is not an overnight story. The party has not been able to stem the downslide, losing state after state after 2014, barring Punjab.

Rahul’s first test as party president will be the 2018 elections – first in Karnataka and later in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where Congress is pitted directly against BJP. Anti-incumbency resentment brewing in the Hindi heartland states should work to its advantage, but Rahul does not have the luxury of too much time to show results.

Will he, for instance, take the bull by its horns and project Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia as CM candidates in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh? It would make sense with the generational shift taking place in the party, and have an appeal, particularly for the youth. Both have worked hard to put the party back on its feet in their states.

While Rahul will be called upon to showcase a youthful, energetic face of the Congress party, to take on the phenomenon called Narendra Modi, he is also faced with the unenviable task of taking the old guard along, who may otherwise inflict damage from within. This may mean giving greater autonomy to those satraps who still enjoy a mass following, as was done with Captain Amarinder Singh in Punjab, Siddaramaiah in Karnataka and BS Hooda in Haryana.

Three, Rahul cannot shy away from the role of getting the opposition together for the 2019 battle, though Sonia is better placed to handle leaders from other non-NDA parties. Even more important than the creation of an opposition front would be to ensure one on one fights between NDA and the opposition in all the Lok Sabha constituencies, to prevent a division in opposition votes. After all, Modi polled only 31% of the popular vote in 2014, even as he took his party to the magic mark of 282 seats.

The late PM VP Singh had got the better of Rajiv Gandhi, despite his whopping 415 Lok Sabha members, by effecting one on one fights in most UP constituencies in the 1989 general elections. But this requires selfless and unglamorous work by some.

And finally, can Rahul Gandhi decide not to seek prime ministership in 2019, and concentrate instead on reviving Congress? For, today he is not seen as a credible alternative to Narendra Modi, and may put off those otherwise unhappy with Modi. The country could be run, were such an opportunity to come, by at least half a dozen leaders known for their administrative acumen. For example Pranab Mukherjee could be persuaded, as also Meira Kumar, Mallikarjun Kharge, P Chidambaram, Sheila Dikshit, and this list is only illustrative.

This is possibly the most opportune time for Rahul to take over, given the resentment against demonetisation and GST. He is seen to be doing ‘better’, and that may be partly due to growing unhappiness with BJP. It goes without saying that his future – and that of Congress – will ultimately depend on the speed with which Modi makes mistakes.