Will Priyanka Gandhi debut in 2014 Lok Sabha elections?
Umesh Raghuvanshi , Hindustan Times Amethi, July 27, 2013
First Published: 00:04 IST(27/7/2013) | Last Updated: 11:30 IST(27/7/2013)
Priyanka Gandhi may have delayed the inevitable but by, all indications, her time on the sidelines could be fast running out.
With the high-stakes general elections staring at the nation, the daughter of India’s political first family may be forced to take the plunge into electoral fray next year in a bid to give her brother Rahul and mother Sonia time and space for their bigger roles in the party than just Rae Bareli and Amethi.
All these years, a popular slogan in Amethi in every election has been “Amethi ka danka, bitiya Priyanka (Amethi’s pride is its daughter Priyanka). But she had let it pass smilingly.
When she had said, “I have said it a thousand times that I am not interested in joining politics” in 1999, people — both Congress men and opposition leaders, and even the media — had smiled indulgently.
For, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was trying to defy tradition. In a changed and highly-surcharged scenario, her “interest” will not matter. Not anymore. The Congress will need her in the forefront more than ever before.
When she set out for her family pocket boroughs, she was very clear about her role although she was considered a good organiser and a level-headed leader of men, besides being a formidable strategist. She is believed to be her mother’s political advisor.
She had once told BBC during a campaign: “Politics is not a strong pull, the people are. And I can do things for them without being in politics.”
Then came 2012, when the Congress won only one assembly seat in the area despite Priyanka’s target of 10 out of 10. And her days as an apolitical leader came to an end.
She was roped in as a saviour for the party in Amethi, as brother Rahul became vice-president of the party and got increasingly busy with his national role. Also, she had to stand in for her mother more frequently as the Congress president went through health problems.
But will she be able to make any perceptible difference in 2014? Even as the Congress pins hopes on her, the rivals are reworking their strategies to corner the Congress in its stronghold. And Priyanka, naturally, is in the cross hairs.
Already, the BJP is trying hard to hit her. Govind Singh, a local BJP leader, revealed the line his party may take against Priyanka: “Her charisma is fading. It will not work against Narendra Modi, who will focus his campaign on this region.”
The BJP is parading one more name — cousin Varun Gandhi, son of Rajiv’s younger brother Sanjay. He may contest from Sultanpur where his father started his political career in the 1970s.
The BJP’s strategy is clear: The battle against the Congress first family in the 2014 general elections will be fought on their home turf. And with all eyes on UP, it will be nastier and bloodier this time.
Meanwhile, Priyanka has completed restructuring of the party in Rae Bareli and begun building the Amethi unit. And, in the process, she has managed to change the party to some extent. “Leaders are not being thrust from the top anymore,” said a party worker.
So, every effort will be made to scare her away, with protests against even issues which are well outside her jurisdiction: From the closure of a carpet factory to erratic power supply.
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