UP: Priyanka likely to make house of Indira’s aunt her operational base

LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to operate from the house of her close relative and late Union minister Sheila Kaul during her visits to the state capital.

Late Sheila Kaul was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's maternal aunt and a sister-in-law of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Her house is located at Gokhle Marg in Lucknow, about three kilometers from the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters.

Priyanka Gandhi who has been active on the Twitter expressing her views on major developments in the state, is likely to utilise Kaul's house as the base for her political activities in the state, said party sources.

During her last visit to the state capital on October 2 to participate in the Gandhi Jayanti march, Priyanka Gandhi had visited the house and spent some time there before embarking on the programme, senior party leaders said.

The house is lying vacant at present with no one from the Kaul's family using it now.

They party leaders said once Priyanka gandhi gets an operational base in Lucknow, she will be giving more time to Uttar Pradesh and will visit it more frequently.

There was a move earlier to search a house for her, meeting her security needs, in the Gomti Nagar area in the capital.

With Priyanka Gandhi being a Special Protection Group protectee and tentatively deciding to use Kaul's house as her operational base in Lucknow, the SPG would now examine if the address meets all the security needs.

A final decision on the issue of utilisation of the house as Gandhi's operational base will be taken only upon SPG'S recommendations, said senior party leaders.