The momentum of the 1984 election verdict would have normally lasted for two, even three terms, perpetuating Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership (in his own right, not as Indira’s son) for a long spell such as his grandfather’s and mother’s. But that was not to be… The meteoric rise plummeted to virtual zero some time in 1987—at about mid-term. Thereafter the hero of young India became almost a source of derisive entertainment to kids in a million homes.
