Finally it is clear that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is all set to join Parliamentary politics for she will be contesting the Wayanad bypoll that will be vacated by her brother. It is a seat that the Congress will probably win. The state of Kerala is one state that has stood by the party at a time when most of India deserted it in favour of the BJP. What would be interesting however is the role that Priyanka will play from now on. Until now she was merely the backroom person who managed constituencies for her family members. This will be the first election where she will be canvassing for herself. No doubt this is a reward for delivering both Amethi and Rae Bareli, especially the former for she camped in both constituencies for over two weeks. The win in Amethi was a trophy won for she won back not just the constituency but also the symbol of her family’s lost prestige.
She is currently a party general secretary but no portfolio has been allocated to her. That created its own speculation, for it was rumoured that Priyanka was not happy with the role planned for her (by her family?) and hence remained a general secretary without a portfolio. She had stayed away from the launch of the second leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the North East and this added fuel to the speculation that she was miffed about something. However, once the elections were announced, she did not hold back and emerged as the star campaigner taking on the PM repartee for repartee. It was she who silenced the BJP when it went around claiming that the Congress was going to steal the familys’ gold if it came to power, specially the mangalsutras. Priyanka reminded the BJP that contrary to its propaganda, far from stealing mangalsutras, it was her mother who had sacrificed her ‘mangalsutra’ for the nation. The comment hit all the right chords. While travelling for the elections and waiting at various airport lounges, I could hear echoes of her speeches from the cellphones around me, as passengers sat in the waiting room scrolling You Tube videos. In 2019, it was Modi’s voice that rang out from these same cell-phones.
Congress sources claim that while Priyanka is the better speaker, certainly she is an emotive orator, it is Rahul who is the organisational man. So be it; both the siblings have their strengths. And each compliments the other. The talk of sibling rivalry is restricted to the groups that surround each rather than emanating from the top. At the family level, all three seem to be in sync, with Rahul taking the lead. And Priyanka is happy to play her part. She certainly knows how to counter the BJP, both with flair and emotion. If Rahul is a schooled politician, his sister is an instinctive one. It is certainly going to be an exciting Parliament session ahead, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the House.
