The Gandhi scion must work out a strategy for the 2022 Assembly polls. For this, she must become a street fighter like her grandmother Indira, hold the flock together and bring new faces into the Congress
One year after her dramatic entry into politics, the Congress is still waiting for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s magic to surface. When she was inducted last year as AICC General Secretary, the party believed that she was their “Brahmastra (divine weapon)” and would restore the party to its old glory. After the passage of one year, many Congressmen feel that she has not delivered as much as the party expected.
Priyanka is not new to politics, as she had grown up in a distinguished political family. Because of an unwritten pact in the family, she had taken a back seat allowing her brother Rahul Gandhi to remain in the limelight for the last two decades. In any case, Sonia Gandhi preferred her son to succeed her, instead of the daughter. After taking charge of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) unit, she began well with a mega 17-km-long roadshow in Lucknow. Priyanka accompanied Rahul when he visited the Pulwama victims and she also visited the families of the victims of the Sonbhadra massacre, Unnao rape case and violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, taking the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath head on.
Before the Lok Sabha polls, she visited the Bhim army chief Chandrashekhar Azad in hospital, creating ripples in political circles. During the elections, till the last minute Priyanka kept up the suspense whether she would contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, or not.
Unfortunately, these moves are not enough. Despite all the hype, in 2019 the Congress won only one seat as Sonia managed to retain Rae Bareli, while Rahul lost in the family bastion Amethi. In 2014, the Congress secured just two seats —those of Sonia and Rahul. The Congress leaders, who were betting on the Priyanka magic are unable to explain why, though at one level, she has many things going for her. Priyanka has the family name, a presentable personality, charisma, an uncanny resemblance to her grandmother Indira Gandhi, articulation and many more positives to her advantage. But obviously these are not enough. Why is Priyanka unable to capitalise on these obvious advantages that she has? Is it because of the lack of backing from the family? Is it sibling rivalry? Is the Old Guard resisting her rise? At least three opportunities came her way in the last one-year. The first was when Rahul resigned after the party lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She could have easily succeeded him as the party chief and no one would have opposed her. Ultimately the Old Guard prevailed on Sonia to come back as the interim party president.
The second was when the anti- CAA protests started picking up. Though Priyanka had tweeted in support of them, had visited the victims in hospital and taken the lead in sitting on a dharna with students at the India Gate, many feel that she could have done more on behalf of the party, particularly in UP as it is one of the States which had faced the worst impact of the Government crackdown on the anti-CAA movement. Priyanka will get another opportunity to lead the party when her mother takes a back seat again. Sonia is said to have conveyed to her close aides (read the Old Guard) that they should choose a new party chief in view of her deteriorating health. When they suggested the name of Priyanka, they got the hint that she would prefer Rahul to come back as the president.
Sadly, Priyanka’s performance in her one year in office is not very impressive but there are many reasons for that. First of all, PGV as Priyanka is called within the party, was deployed very late. Had she been inducted ten years ago, she would have matured politically. Also her entry was at the wrong time. The party was in a disarray, losing one State after another post its miserable performance in the 2014 general elections, where it got just 44 seats as the Rahul-led Congress had not been able to provide an alternative to Modi.
Second, the Gandhi name no longer holds the magic, which the family refuses to recognise. No one in the present generation is in awe of the clan. The unfortunate thing is that while Modi has found a way to connect with the voters, the Gandhis are still to find their narrative. While Rahul has at lease some electoral wins, PGV does not even have that, though she is considered more articulate and charismatic than her brother.
Third, Priyanka might become a good leader in times to come but for that she should become a vote catcher. Looking back, it is not clear what is Priyanka’s brand of politics except for her sporadic activities. She must work out a strategy for the 2022 Assembly polls. For this she must hold the flock together and also bring in new faces. But if she has the spirit of Indira Gandhi, Priyanka too should become a street fighter and be seen more on the ground than on twitter. If she has to lift the Congress from its present decline in UP, Priyanka has to build the organisation at the grassroot level and become a 24/7 politician as 2022 is not very far.
(The writer is a senior journalist)
