Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was widely pegged as Congress’ trump card for the 2019 elections, has panned out to be a disappointment if reports are to be believed. After being appointed as General Secretary for the Uttar Pradesh (East) for Congress, she is yet to address a public rally in Uttar Pradesh. Her maiden speech, almost two months after her official induction in Congress, was in Gujarat.
And since the Congress-friendly media have nothing substantial to talk about what she has or has not done in her 2 months of political life, they have decided to fawn over her profile picture.
Meanwhile, if reports are to be believed, Congress workers, as well as leaders, are quite clueless about what Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has in store for the party as far as a strategy is concerned. After her appointment as General Secretary of Congress in charge of Uttar Pradesh, East, she has cancelled her trip to Uttar Pradesh capital, Lucknow, thrice. Neither has she given any roadmap for her campaign strategy nor has she given hint about her plans.
While BSP and SP have been sidelining Congress in the state, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s silence is quite deafening. Meanwhile, she has zeroed in on a three-day boat trip from Prayagraj to Varanasi from 18-20 March, ahead of Holi. Earlier, there were reports that she may visit Prayagraj for a holy dip during the Kumbh Mela which concluded earlier this month. However, she didn’t turn up for that either.
Amidst all these, there are rumours that Rahul Gandhi is unsure of winning from Amethi because of which he is contemplating fighting elections from two seats, the other one from either Karnataka or Tamil Nadu. An analysis of 4 years of Smriti Irani, the BJP candidate from Amethi in 2014 who lost to Congress President Rahul Gandhi shows how Irani has contributed significantly to the constituency which The Family has helmed for decades.
As India gears up to vote in about 3 weeks time, it seems as if it is not only the party but even The Family which is fighting for relevance.