Idukki, Kerala: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday described politics as an “unpleasant job”, telling students that those who enter public life with a strong value system must be prepared to face significant challenges.
Speaking during an interaction with students at Marian College Kuttikkanam (Autonomous) in Kerala’s Idukki district, Gandhi said that pursuing politics seriously requires resilience and a willingness to endure hardships.
#WATCH | Idukki, Kerala | Interacting with students of Marian College Kuttikkanam (Autonomous), Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, “If you want to be a politician, it’s an unpleasant job… If you want to do it seriously, and you have a certain value system, it’s a very difficult… pic.twitter.com/LhZyjLIbbF
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2026
“If you want to be a politician, it’s an unpleasant job… If you want to do it seriously, and you have a certain value system, it’s a very difficult job… Be ready to suffer quite a lot and get beaten up and pushed around if you’re doing it for the right reason. If you’re doing it for the wrong reason, then it’s easy…”
‘Two Different Paths’ In Politics
Gandhi said that individuals entering politics often face a fundamental choice about their motivations.
“Am I doing it for myself? Am I doing it to benefit myself? Then you have one other path. And then you say, am I doing it to benefit or defend certain ideas or certain values? Then the path is completely different.”
He explained that the two approaches lead to very different outcomes.
“One is an unpleasant, difficult path, but you learn a lot, and you’re actually quite useful. The other one is an easy path. You might not learn that much. Maybe you’ll have a big house, a lot of money… If you go on this one, then that one is blocked. If you go on that one, then this one is blocked…”
‘Honesty Is Possible In Politics’
Reflecting on his own experience after entering politics, Gandhi said he had often heard that honesty and transparency were difficult to maintain in public life.
“In my experience, when I first joined politics, the general thing that people would say is that in politics, you cannot be honest… I refuse to believe that.”
He added that he continues to test the idea that honesty can exist in politics.
“I am testing the idea that honesty is possible in politics… That how transparent can you be?… And where are the limitations?…”
