They began referring to him as 'Yuvraj' (prince) in their statements and this coupled with the dynasty factor which characterises the Congress party was seen as a sure shot recipe for alienating the aam admi, which has been central to the Congress campaign to reach out to the masses.
With the privy purses and raja-rajwadas officially and constitutionally deleted from the fine print of the Indian constitution long ago, the mind set had continued to be feudal, and so had the mode of addressing royalty and even semi-royalty.
To create an even playing field, the Congress has now said that all those using feudal titles would be officially deleted from the Congress records and the party has asked its partymen to refrain from using such titles either in writing or in everyday life.
These would include Raja, Maharaja, Kunwar, Rani, Maharani, Rajkumari, Begum etc.
While some leaders continue to use their titles before their names, others like Jyotiraditya Scindia don't use them in writing, but continue to be addressed as Maharaja with all the attendant protocol when interacting with and meeting subjects from Gwalior or other lesser royal lineages of Madhya Pradesh.
It's a different world where the past continues to linger in the present and impacts the future. It's a world very much removed from the Kalavatis and the Leelavatis and the Mayawatis who are the reality of Modern India, and the reality which has been repeatedly addressed by Rahul Gandhi in the last five years.
While partymen see the hidden hand of Rahul Gandhi in this directive issued by partymen, the Congress is keen to make the point that the modern day dynasty of the Nehru-Gandhis is based on the people's mandate, and not the long-abolished titles of Yuvrajs and Rajkumaris which continue to dodge our feudals.
