Describing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a man who has "significantly gained maturity" over the years, Nobel laureate economist Professor Amartya Sen felt the leader's true test would be how he led the Opposition in Parliament during the current regime of Narendra Modi-led NDA government.

The nonagenarian also opined that Rahul's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' has not only shaped him as a national leader but also enriched the country's political landscape.

Talking to PTI in an exclusive interview at his ancestral residence in Bolpur in West Bengal's Birbhum district, Sen recollected how Rahul, as a student at Trinity College in Cambridge, was unsure about "what he wanted to do" in life given that "politics never quite appealed to him then".

"I think he (Rahul) is a much more mature person (now). I knew him as a young man during his days at Trinity College... the college where I studied and later became its Master. He (Rahul) visited me at that time and he came across as someone who was unclear about what he wanted to do. Politics didn't seem to appeal to him then," Sen recollected.

The Bharat Ratna awardee said that the young Congress leader may have faced some difficulty during his initial days in politics, but he has evolved over the years and his recent performance was "extraordinarily good".

"Then he (Rahul) forayed into politics and I think initially he had some difficulty finding his feet. But his recent performance has been quite extraordinarily good and I am very admiring of that. Of course, you can't be fighting elections based on your qualities alone, it also depends on what the country is like," he stated.

Asked whether he could see India's next Prime Minister in Rahul Gandhi, an amused Sen said that such possibilities are tough to predict.

"I am not going to answer this thing (laughs). How people become prime ministers is very difficult to catch.

"If somebody asked me when I was a student in Delhi, who among my fellow students was least likely to become a prime minister, I would have named Manmohan Singh since he did not seem to take any interest in politics. But then he went on to become a prime minister and, I think, an excellent one at that. So, it's difficult to predict these things," Sen smiled.

Referring to Rahul's 'Bharat Jogo Yatra' initiative, the academic extolled the Congress leader's "improved ability of articulation" in politics.

"Rahul has done a good job. I think the yatra was good both for India and for him. And I think he has shown remarkable improvement in this ability to articulate, especially his thoughts on politics, much more clearly than he could in the past.

"When he came to Trinity, he was possibly trying to be a development expert and we talked about what he should read and so on. He was very eloquent there, but in politics, not really. But now he is very articulate in matters of politics," he emphasised.

According to Sen, the most significant change in Rahul's leadership quality comes from his newfound rootedness in the complexities of Indian polity which, he said, would be a boon both for the Congress party he leads and for the country in Parliament of which he is the Leader of the Opposition.

Sen concluded by highlighting the importance of Gandhi's role in addressing the pressing issues of inequality and sectarianism in India.

"The most important issue is how he leads the Opposition in a country which has seen a great increase in inequality and sectarianism, particularly with respect to the majority community exercising overarching dominance over minorities like Muslims, Christians, and others. That's his primary role, and I think he's handling it well," Sen said.

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