What does the future hold for the man who has taken the risk of creating a parallel power centre with his sister Priyankas formal political debut
Priyanka has been active all these years but in a lab-like, controlled political environment. She did not hold a party post but she has been running campaigns in Amethi and Rae Bareli, which helped her establish a good connect with Congress loyalist voter
Will Priyanka be a -vajra- thunderbolt whose destructive powers could possibly change the course of the war - the Lok Sabha polls to be held in April-May - in the Congress-s favour? While the Opposition and detractors may think otherwise, the Congress rank and file are hugely upbeat about the party president-s younger sibling entering the fray.
They have pinned all their hopes on Priyanka-s charisma and Rahul-s evolved ways of aggressive and mature leadership to revive the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. The talk is about what the future holds for the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and non-Congress parties in view of Priyanka-s formal debut.
Priyanka has been active all these years but in a lab-like, controlled political environment. She did not hold a party post but she has been running campaigns in Amethi and Rae Bareli, which helped her establish a good connect with Congress loyalist voters in eastern UP. Supervising half the Congress seats in UP means Priyanka will be reaching out to at least seven crore voters. Whether she contests the polls or not is another issue, but the Congress workers want her to be in Parliament because of her great mass appeal, no-nonsense approach and direct manner of attacking rivals.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi
Gandhi vs Gandhi
It is common to draw parallels between the generations of families in politics, cricket and cinema. Priyanka-s mannerism is unfailingly compared with that of her grandmother, the late Indira Gandhi. Rahul, too, faced the test but not many comparisons came his way. Previously, it was his -casual- approach to politics, and later the BJP-s -Pappu- campaign that crashed the party-s hopes. Rahul kept interning for a very long time and replaced his mother because only a Gandhi could have held the flock intact when a ferocious enemy attacked it in an attempt to wipe the party off Indian politics. But, within a year things have reversed for Rahul, who is now a very significant figure - a potent threat to Narendra Modi and PM aspirants in non-BJP and non-Congress parties.
The Congress is an organisation that sees loyalty split between members of the high command. During Indira-s time, Sanjay Gandhi held the remote control and led his own group of loyalists. Later, Rajiv got his own fan following in the party. Before taking up the Congress leadership, Sonia Gandhi continued to have her flock keeping her politically relevant. Rahul became another power centre when the mother ruled.
Risk well taken?
In appointing Priyanka as general secretary, Rahul has taken a risk of creating a parallel power centre within the party. The phenomenon is expected to continue with Priyanka-s anointment, unless the siblings have a greater understanding between them and won-t get fooled by the chamcha culture. There is no way for us to say whether or not the family has factored in the perception before agreeing to roll Priyanka out in a surprise role. The siblings must have also considered Priyanka-s Indira-like looks, which the sister could use to the party-s electoral benefit. A view that a large section of party leaders hold about the sister-s leadership qualities and better understanding of politics should continue to have the siblings compared on several parameters.
Rahul has said that Priyanka would bring a new way of thinking to UP and change the dynamics of the state that holds the key to the making of the Union government. We keep our fingers crossed over Priyanka-s challenging assignment, but we supplement Rahul in saying that Priyanka has apparently brought the Congress a thought process that has been missing all these years.
Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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