PRIYANKA TAKES THE PLUNGE
Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into formal politics is perhaps the beginning of a grand revival plan Congress president Rahul Gandhi has envisaged for the party. After facing the worst defeat in Congress’s electoral history in May 2014, Rahul has often pointed out that the road to resurgence is through strengthening the party in the states, particularly those with massive numbers of Lok Sabha seats—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. For him, the difference between the superlative electoral performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress debacle was the organisational muscle of the saffron party, pushed by the panIndia spread of the parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Rahul took a long time to begin the revamp of the party network, or perhaps he was waiting for a victory to kickstart the process. Without the Congress wins in the December 2018 assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states, there was every possibility that Priyanka’s entry into politics would have been seen as an acceptance of Rahul’s failure as a leader. The victory became the perfect opportunity to launch Priyanka into the organisational structure of the party. As Rahul has said to reporters, Priyanka’s job is long term and not just about winning seats for the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. “No party can aspire to rule India for long if it is not strong in UP, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats. Priyanka is young, charismatic and fresh. She is part of the plan to make the Congress a strong panIndia party once again,” says a Rajya Sabha MP from the party.
According to Rahul, a singular strategy would not work in every state. It’s why the party stayed away from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alliance in UP, despite Rahul’s pitch for a united opposition against the Narendra Modiled BJP in the 2019 election. Many
grassroots Congress leaders told Rahul that playing a minor partner in the SP-BSP alliance could sound the death knell for the party.
Rahul didn’t want to hurt the alliance, which has the potential to damage the BJP’s prospects in UP. The search was, therefore, for a leader who could energise grassroots workers in the state and snatch away voters who are unhappy with the BJP but unwilling to support the SP-BSP alliance, which is primarily a combination of the backward class and Dalit votes. Priyanka fit the bill. “We will work in sync with (SP’s) Akhilesh Yadav and (BSP’s) Mayawati wherever possible. At the same time, it’s important for us to create space for the ideology of the Congress, and it’s a big step in that direction,” says Rahul.
This also explains Jyotiraditya Scindia’s appointment as the Congress general secretary for UP West. Though he often claims in private that he belongs to the backward class, Scindia is expected to attract Thakur votes, while Priyanka—upper caste and sister of janeudhari, Shiv bhakt Brahmin Rahul—will bring in the Brahmin vote in UP East.
Priyanka will challenge both Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, whose bastion Gorakhpur also falls in UP East. The Congress also hopes to cash in on the likeness 47-yearold Priyanka arguably bears with her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Till now, a backdoor strategist and confined to the constituencies of brother Rahul (Amethi) and mother Sonia Gandhi (Raebareli), Priyanka, unlike Rahul, is known for her informal and hands-on style.
As expected, the BJP has described Priyanka’s political elevation as the Congress’s no-confidence motion against Rahul just before the general election. “It is the first official declaration from the Congress that they don’t have trust in Rahul Gandhi’s leadership,” says Union minister J.P. Nadda.
However, one person is smiling—Janata Dal (United) leader and former election strategist Prashant Kishor, who wanted to launch Priyanka as the Congress’s face just before the 2016 assembly poll in UP. “While people may debate the timing, exact role and position, to me, the real news is that she finally decided to take the plunge,” says Kishor.
Priyanka Gandhi’s job is long term and not just about winning seats for the Congress in UP in the Lok Sabha poll