A Vadra twist in Congress’s Amethi story
Could Robert Vadra be pitching for a nomination in party’s prestige seat with the sanction of the Congress leadership?
What does one make of Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, volunteering himself as the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh (UP)? What seemed to be at first a general remark about the future has subsequently evolved into a very specific pitch for this election. Vadra told IANS, a news agency, that he received calls from across India, and such was the clamour for him that posters were springing up in different pockets of India urging him to jump into the fray.
Is it a mere, slightly amusing distraction or is there more to it than meets the eye?
Aditi Singh, former Congresswoman and today the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from the Rae Bareli Sadar assembly segment, told me that “at a personal level…” she found it “...hilarious and at a professional level, it’s befuddling”.
This is not the first time Vadra has expressed an appetite for active electoral politics. As far back as 2012 and well before his wife had a formal, hands-on role in the management of the party, Vadra told me in an interview that if he entered politics, it would be a full-time career. Even then he referenced the time he had spent in Amethi and Rae Bareli. Even then, more than a decade ago, he believed people sought a role in public life from him.
While every Indian citizen is free to contest elections, it is the timing of this round of statements by Vadra that is raising eyebrows. The Congress has not yet named candidates for either constituency in a state that has till now been the launch pad for the prime ministership of every single member of the Nehru-gandhi family. By contrast, BJP’S Smriti Irani has set up home in Amethi and dares Rahul Gandhi, almost every day to go head to head with her. She took her battle pointedly to Rahul Gandhi’s turf with a day on the campaign trail in Wayanad, Kerala.
Sure, the delay by the Congress could well be strategic. Word is that the party has decided not to reveal its hand in UP till polling in Wayanad is over. There’s nearly a month between the election in Wayanad and Amethi. The Congress thinking might be to not risk irking the Wayanad voter with any parallel talk about Amethi. In Kerala, the Left parties, who have fielded Annie Raja against Gandhi in Wayanad, have already been taunting the Congress for being afraid of taking on the BJP directly in the Hindi heartland. Apart from being a long-time activist politician in her own right, Annie Raja is also the wife of Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja, who was ironically seen standing by Gandhi’s side in snow-draped Kashmir at the end of the first leg of Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. With Gandhi’s entry, the CPI vote share in the Wayanad seat fell close to 15 points in 2019 as the Congress vote share jumped to nearly 65%. But, in 2024, with a renewed aggression by the Left and focused criticism on Gandhi’s “absence”, the Congress probably wants to take no chances. So, expect an announcement after the Kerala election is behind them.
That still gives us no clue to explain Vadra’s utterances.
His suo motu chatter of a possible Amethi candidature clearly does the Congress no favours given their own prevarication. If anything, it creates an awkward situation for the Congress, which is already looking nervous and uncertain about these contests.
Unless one looks at it through another lens. Could Vadra have spoken without a go-ahead from his family? Unlikely. In that case, we should not treat his comments as either casual or off the cuff.
In this context, Vadra’s comments have three possible explanations. First, he is serious and could be the Congress candidate. Any defeat is on him and insulates the Gandhi sibling; any win is a bonus.
Second, he is speaking as a proxy for Priyanka Gandhi and seeking a larger role for her. This, while theoretically possible, doesn’t make much sense given how close the brother and sister are. And yet, could it be as author Sugata Srinivasaraju told me, “a case of a husband laying claim to his wife’s political inheritance?”
Finally, could it be a well-timed deflection to keep the buzz around the Congress, Gandhis and Amethi alive, while the party buys time in Wayanad, Kerala?
We don’t know for sure. But no one would believe that in the middle of an existential election for the Congress party, a family member who is not formally in politics, would be permitted to be a loose cannon.
Hence, we should take Vadra’s comments as sanctioned by the party leadership.
And in that case, wait for the Amethi twist in the tale.
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME ROBERT VADRA HAS EXPRESSED AN APPETITE FOR ACTIVE ELECTORAL POLITICS. AS FAR BACK AS 2012, VADRA TOLD ME IN AN INTERVIEW THAT IF HE ENTERED POLITICS, IT WOULD BE A FULL-TIME CAREER