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The demand to announce Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the chief ministerial candidate of the party for the next UP assembly election once again gained momentum after the Central government served notice on her to vacate her house in New Delhi.
Majority of leaders in UP are of the view that now Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should shift her base to Lucknow to regain power in the state in the next election.
“The door to forming government at the Centre goes is in Uttar Pradesh, which has the maximum 80 Lok Sabha seats, so it is high time that Priyanka should accept the challenge and project herself as the chief ministerial candidate of the party in the assembly elections slated for 2022. This will revive the party in UP before the next parliamentary elections in 2014,” said a former president of UPCC on condition of anonymity.
“The coming of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the front would also unite the party in UP that is presently divided into two camps, one of the newcomers who are Ajay Kumar Lallu’s loyalists and the other of old warriors of the party who have spent more than three decades in Congress but are now not even getting due respect,” the leader said, while stressing that instead of working through Lallu, Priyanka should shift to Lucknow and take over the fight with the government.
Another senior leader who was a minister during United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, said the way Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s aggression during lockdown, especially in dealing with problems of migrants, had upset Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, and to some extent Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, indicated that Congress had equal opportunity in the next election to grab power if Priyanka fought from the front.
“The best chance for the Congress will emerge if it gets a big chunk of the Muslim-Dalit vote. This will make it an attractive bet for undecided voters, including OBCs who may be looking beyond the BJP and SP,” the leader said, adding that the scare in even Yogi Adityanath government over rising popularity of Priyanka was another pointer that BJP feared shift of its upper caste vote bank.
“But for that to happen, the Congress cadre in Uttar Pradesh need to start believing in their party and themselves. So far there is no proof on the ground that Priyanka has made a noticeable impact. Setting up a permanent base in Lucknow is a signal that she means business and the party has also a more inspiring chief ministerial face than that of SP and BSP whom the people have already seen in the past and are upset with their performances, he added.
“At present I cannot say whether she will stay in Lucknow It will be announced once she decides,” UP Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu told a new agency while replying whether Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would shift her base to the state capital. 
He had, however, noted that it was the wish of every Congressman in UP that Priyanka should move to Lucknow and lead the battle.
Another senior Congress leader, PL Punia, had also reiterated that the final decision regarding shifting her base would be taken by Gandhi.
Sources said that Priyanka, who has already made her maternal aunt’s house as her base in Lucknow, might shift here as the central government has asked her to vacate her government bungalow in Delhi’s Lodhi Estate by August1 next, as she is no longer an SPG protectee.
During the past one year, Priyanka has stayed several times in the house. The Lucknow house of Priyanka, known as Kaul House, belonged to former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s maternal aunt Sheila Kaul. The bungalow, located on Gokhale Marg, has been locked for years and is now being spruced up for Priyanka Gandhi’s residence.