Since the day Rahul Gandhi has stepped into the centre-stage of Indian politics, he has been made the centre of attraction by the political opposition, the media and the masses. What makes Mr Gandhi so popular today has become an issue of debate within the Indian media. Considered a toddler by the opposition till very recently, Rahul has now managed to create a niche for himself in politics through his talent, sincerity, candidness and hard work.

The remarkable part about this Gandhi scion is his honesty in accepting things as they are without using a political manoeuvre or giving the issue a twist. This makes him stand out in the present political spectrum of the country. Rahul has the courage to accept that family rule in politics is not healthy for Indian democracy. That, coupled with his honest admission that he is still learning and his respect and open praise of the good work of the opposition leaders like Vajpayee, Nitesh Kumar and others, makes him stand very tall.

His repeated mention of the poor widow, Kalavati, during the Lok Sabha debates last yearu00a0-- for which he was laughed upon by the opposition, which called it an expression by a kidu00a0-- was actually the expression of pain by a young sincere politician.

Rahul has tried to give the Indian National Congress and its affiliates new power and a new direction. His concepts of a talent hunt, the Discover India campaign and internal elections for the different state units of the NSUI and the Youth Congress are laudable measures.

Rahul has emerged as a new hope for the Indian youth and the aam aadmi. He is a young turk who has a vision for this country and the passion to take it to new heights. Perhaps Rajeev Gandhi's dream of a powerful India will be fulfilled by his worthy son. If Rahul wanted, he could have taken the post of a cabinet minister or could have even become the Prime Minister, but he chose, instead, to work for the common people.

Instead of criticising him for going and staying in the bastis and the tribal areas, the youth should learn a lesson or two from him. Here is a prince coming out of his ivory tower to go to far-flung areas and share the pain of the poor. The biggest irony is that most of the leaders who have come from poor backgrounds have forgotten their past and are now residing in their own ivory towers, out of the people's reach.

In my view, Rahul is the people's prince, but the challenges of the future will be huge. And only time will tell whether this emerging young leader can handle them or not.

The BJP had a wonderful antidote to Rahul Gandhi's rise in the form of his cousin Varun Gandhi but they squandered this golden opportunity by firing him like a misguided missile during the last Lok Sabha polls. With the Indian left nowhere in the Indian political scene and the BJP on its death bed, it is only a matter of time before the masses vote for Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister.

Dutta is a television personality, foreign affairs expert and political critic