Priyanka Gandhi is confident of her victory from Wayanad. In the past, she has often leaned on Lord Krishna who had said, “The meaning of Karma is in the intention. The intention behind the action is what matters. Those who are motivated only by desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do.”
Temperamentally, Priyanka is more on uncle Sanjay Gandhi mould with her spontaneity, risk taking ability and reliance on a core team. Since joining formal politics in 2019, Priyanka has not been shying from putting her credibility at stake time and again. At Wayanad, she is in the electoral fray for the first time generating a lot of interest within and outside the Congress Parivar. The outcome of Wayanad and Priyanka’s victory margin would be closely watched in the Congress circles.
Priyanka has been a central piece in the Congress politics and often seen functioning from 10, Janpath. Old timers recalled how the year 2019 had, in fact, begun on a promising note for the Congress. It had won assembly elections held in the previous year in three states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — giving the party something to cheer about. On January 24, 2019, the Congress had formally inducted Priyanka as an All-India Congress Committee general secretary. She was dubbed a “game changer” and a “brahmastra” by her party colleagues and a section of the media.
Congress workers were upbeat. This was the moment they had been waiting for so long. But other forces were at play too. Just as Priyanka was set to hold her first press conference in Lucknow on February 14, 2019, a convoy of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force came under attack in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving over 40 troopers dead.
The response would come on February 26, 2024 The announcement of general elections was on the cards when the Indian Air Force struck deep inside Pakistan, destroying a terrorist camp in Balakot. India had struck back within a fortnight. Prime minister Narendra Modi was seen as a man of action who had dared to get even with Pakistan without caring for international opinion or repercussions. The “Ghar mein ghus kar mara” narrative brought a great deal of satisfaction and pride to Indian citizens across the country.
For days, Priyanka struggled to come out and pick up the threads to launch her poll campaign. By the time the 2019 general elections concluded, the Modi-led BJP had won another decisive mandate. The Congress finished with a paltry tally of 52 of the 543 parliamentary seats where elections were held. Both in 2019 and in 2024 general elections, she had toyed with the idea of contesting against Modi — and then backed out.
Congress insiders insist that Priyanka was keen to contest from Varanasi but Rahul and Sonia vetoed the idea, saying it would not be prudent to start her political career with a defeat. Apparently, the party’s in-house surveys had shown that Modi was unbeatable in Varanasi and Priyanka deferred to her family’s decision.
Another obvious problem with Priyanka is that she has always had too much on her platter. The AICC general secretary is expected to be constantly on a firefighting mission. In Punjab, she was seen as Navjyot Singh Sidhu supporter while in Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot is seen as Priyanka’s preferred choice. Priyanka is also expected to be a social media warrior, pro-active on Twitter, and use 24×7 television news to her advantage to take on the combined might of the highly skilled and resourceful BJP.
A cursory look at Priyanka’s life explains why she is considered a harbinger of hope and promise, at least within Congress circles. In 1999, she had on her own demolished Arun Nehru, a close relative and former Congressman turned BJP nominee, who was pitted against the Nehru-Gandhi family retainer, Capt. Satish Sharma.
In India’s 78 years since independence, the Nehru-Gandhis have led the Congress for 59 years. Congressmen of all hues and shades look up to the family as unquestionable leaders and, in return, expect electoral success. From Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira, Rajiv and Sonia, no member of the Nehru-Gandhi family has failed or abruptly opted out of politics. As a result, Congress leaders blindly follow them and do not wish to look beyond the Gandhis. It is now up to Priyanka Gandhi to deal with this perception — some call it an illusion of grandeur and prove the political instincts of Congress activists right. Would November 23, 2024 reinforce that perception once again?