There is little question that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s sister, will prove to be a formidable adversary for the BJP on the campaign trail, as she showed so convincingly in the 2009 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh where the Congress picked up as many as 21 seats, which no one had thought possible.
Mr Gandhi had laid the groundwork in that election by mobilising the farming community, and Ms Vadra captivated audiences at election meetings. The fact that she bears a strong resemblance to her late grandmother, former PM Indira Gandhi, helped boost her innate charisma all the more.
But being posted as AICC general secretary in charge of eastern UP — the most difficult part of the state from her party’s perspective — by the Congress president this week enhances Ms Vadra’s field of responsibility. She will be called upon to devise strategies, engage party workers and connect with voters in urban and rural areas, not just speak at election rallies. This will be a new role for her and she has to prove herself.
Though Ms Vadra has been largely absent from the political scene for the past five years, she is in reality an experienced political person. It’s just that she has now been handed an official party responsibility. With mother Sonia Gandhi no longer as active as before due to health-related issues, her two children have probably just decided to do some burden-shouldering together to take the Congress forward.
This underlines the Congress Party’s dynastic moorings all the more. It’s pretty clear that Ms Vadra may not have got the job if she weren’t who she is by virtue of birth. In a country of young people, where entitlement is losing its sheen, the Congress needs to democratise a lot more.
However, what is in Ms Vadra’s favour is that she is a star campaigner, capable of placing political opponents on the defensive by her sheer presence. In case of Mr Gandhi and Ms Vadra, it’s also true that the “dynasts” have taken up cudgels on behalf of the underprivileged sections of society, including unemployed youth.
They have also taken an open stand against a polity centred on religion-based majoritarianism, which has been on view in recent times. This issue is important for maintaining the country’s social unity.
The work given by the Congress Party to Ms Vadra — and along with her Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has been named the AICC general secretary for western UP — will not end with the election. They have been charged with reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. This is a hard task, which will be made the easier if Ms Vadra and Mr Scindia do well in the Parliament election. If not, there could be recriminations.
