In his first rally in Delhi, Rahul refrained from making any reference to communal politics. (IE Photo: Renuka Puri)

Addressing his first election rally in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi Sunday refrained from making any reference to communal politics and the idiom of hatred that he had used earlier this week to attack the BJP and instead reverted to his familiar script of highlighting the right-based initiatives of the UPA government . He also spoke about the infrastructure boom in the national capital in the 15 years of Congress rule.

At his two public rallies in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh last week, the Congress vice-president had made an attempt to alter the political discourse and take on Narendra Modi directly. However, his remarks  especially the claim that Pakistan's ISI was in touch with riot victims  had evoked strong criticism from across the political spectrum, including Muslim organisations.

On Sunday, as Modi addressed his much-anticipated rally in Patna, Rahul did speak about "anger", but the context was different and the aggression missing.

Pitching the Congress as a party that fights for the poor, he said: "A Congress man fights, but he does not do it in anger but with love. He fights from his heart. Others fight with anger. We fight for the people and for the weak, but with love."

Rahul's toning down came amidst division within the Congress itself on taking on the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate on the communalism issue.

While a section feels that confronting Modi on the issue could be electorally beneficial and force other parties to take a stand in the commuanalism vs secularism debate, another section argues that it will help the BJP by polarising voters. They refer to Modi's ability to "spin and twist" and point out how Sonia Gandhi's "merchants of death" remark before the 2007 Gujarat elections had backfired.

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