DOES PRIYANKA HAVE THE MAGIC? AND WILL IT WORK?
Congress President Rahul Gandhi's decision to appoint his sister Priyanka Vadra as a general secretary of the party in charge of Uttar Pradesh (east) can be interpreted in four broad ways.
The first is to see the development as a move to prevent the return of the Modi-led government at the Centre. The Congress clearly believes that Priyanka Vadra has the necessary charisma to counter Modi's personal popularity across the country. This is of course a tacit admission that leaders of the party, including Rahul Gandhi, have failed in this task over the years, and have had to persuade Priyanka to enter the fray.
The second is to strengthen the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. For some decades now, and especially in the last few years, the party has got systematically marginalised in the state. It won just two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and failed miserably in the 2017 Assembly poll despite having an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The party rank and file in Uttar Pradesh stood demoralised, with not just the rise of the SP and the BSP over the past two decades but also the BJP in the last five years. Congress leaders hope that Priyanka Vadra can change the fortunes of the party in the State.
The third interpretation is that the Congress wishes to face the challenge posed by the SP-BSP alliance by sending across the message that the party was not prepared to be on the back foot as a result of being left out of the grand alliance. Thus, in Uttar Pradesh, if the BSP has Mayawati and the SP boasts of Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress now has Priyanka Vadra.
The fourth way to look at the development is not something that the Rahul Gandhi camp will like. It is that the induction of Priyanka Vadra is something of an acceptance of the Congress president's failure to effectively lead the Congress -- notwithstanding the party's recent victories in three north Indian States. Various opinion polls have shown that Rahul Gandhi lags far behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi in personal popularity ratings across the country, and his rant on a range of issues such as the Rafale controversy, has not really clicked. He needed a booster, and Priyanka Vadra is seen as that booster.
But Priyanka Vadra's entry need not be seen as an earth-shaking development. She has been active in politics for some time now, albeit limiting herself to the affairs of Rae Bareli and Amethi. But remember that she also played a significant part in the selection of the Chief Minister for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Despite her active participation in Amethi, her brother and sitting MP Rahul Gandhi had a tough time in 2014, retaining the seat by a vastly reduced margin. Besides, there has been speculation that the Congress president, knowing that he would find the going tough in Amethi, would be contesting from a second seat as well, from outside Uttar Pradesh.
With Sonia Gandhi taking a backseat due to health issues, it is evident that the Rahul-Priyanka combine will now helm the Congress in the coming months and years. Rahul Gandhi has the baggage of an ineffectual leader. Will Priyanka Vadra too be bogged down by the baggage of allegations against husband Robert Vadra?
Congress President Rahul Gandhi's decision to appoint his sister Priyanka Vadra as a general secretary of the party in charge of Uttar Pradesh (east) can be interpreted in four broad ways.
The first is to see the development as a move to prevent the return of the Modi-led government at the Centre. The Congress clearly believes that Priyanka Vadra has the necessary charisma to counter Modi's personal popularity across the country. This is of course a tacit admission that leaders of the party, including Rahul Gandhi, have failed in this task over the years, and have had to persuade Priyanka to enter the fray.
The second is to strengthen the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. For some decades now, and especially in the last few years, the party has got systematically marginalised in the state. It won just two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and failed miserably in the 2017 Assembly poll despite having an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The party rank and file in Uttar Pradesh stood demoralised, with not just the rise of the SP and the BSP over the past two decades but also the BJP in the last five years. Congress leaders hope that Priyanka Vadra can change the fortunes of the party in the State.
The third interpretation is that the Congress wishes to face the challenge posed by the SP-BSP alliance by sending across the message that the party was not prepared to be on the back foot as a result of being left out of the grand alliance. Thus, in Uttar Pradesh, if the BSP has Mayawati and the SP boasts of Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress now has Priyanka Vadra.
The fourth way to look at the development is not something that the Rahul Gandhi camp will like. It is that the induction of Priyanka Vadra is something of an acceptance of the Congress president's failure to effectively lead the Congress -- notwithstanding the party's recent victories in three north Indian States. Various opinion polls have shown that Rahul Gandhi lags far behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi in personal popularity ratings across the country, and his rant on a range of issues such as the Rafale controversy, has not really clicked. He needed a booster, and Priyanka Vadra is seen as that booster.
But Priyanka Vadra's entry need not be seen as an earth-shaking development. She has been active in politics for some time now, albeit limiting herself to the affairs of Rae Bareli and Amethi. But remember that she also played a significant part in the selection of the Chief Minister for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Despite her active participation in Amethi, her brother and sitting MP Rahul Gandhi had a tough time in 2014, retaining the seat by a vastly reduced margin. Besides, there has been speculation that the Congress president, knowing that he would find the going tough in Amethi, would be contesting from a second seat as well, from outside Uttar Pradesh.
With Sonia Gandhi taking a backseat due to health issues, it is evident that the Rahul-Priyanka combine will now helm the Congress in the coming months and years. Rahul Gandhi has the baggage of an ineffectual leader. Will Priyanka Vadra too be bogged down by the baggage of allegations against husband Robert Vadra?
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