To borrow from former US President Obama’s line which defined his presidency, ‘audacity of hope’ best captures Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s comment that she is the face of the party in Uttar Pradesh.
Audacity, as in UP, Congress is nowhere in the reckoning. The battle in UP is between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). And the Congress is way behind. But those who know Priyanka closely say that she is used to taking risks. In fact, some had advised her to give up charge as the UP general secretary as a loss would be a blot on her and she would be attacked as “a failure in politics”. In private, Priyanka told them that she was not scared and would not give up the chance.
There are a few quick reasons why Priyanka’s comment could enthuse the party cadre. In a tough ground like UP, for the Congress the fact that a Gandhi is willing to take the risk will send a message to the cadre that they too should risk it. Problem is the Congress doesn’t have the infrastructure nor cadre on ground who are critical to ensure that voters reach the booth to cast their votes. But with Priyanka declaring herself as the CM face, the cadre has a reason to cheer. But with this also comes the pressure to contest.
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The Gandhis have never fought on an assembly seat. In 2019 too, there was a hype that she would fight the PM in Varanasi, but she opted out. So if Priyanka decides to do it this time, it would be a political message and would add to the fact that she was okay to take a risk, like how Arvind Kejriwal contested opposite the PM from Varanasi and Chandrashekhar Azad is contesting against Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur. This despite the fact that both knew that this could be a losing battle. This is where the audacity comes in – both Kejriwal and Azad had made a political point that they don’t indulge in safe politics.
The Gandhis, to the contrary, have been accused of opting for safe options. Like when Rahul Gandhi decided to take a plunge into active politics, he chose the safe family seat of Amethi. And when he decided to contest from a second seat, he chose Wayanad, where the Congress has had a stronghold.
So where will Priyanka contest from, if she does? Rae Bareli is the most obvious choice as her mother is an MP from the constituency. Also, with Priyanka being projected as Indira Gandhi 2.0, Rae Bareli can be seen as a safe seat. If she contests from Rae Bareli than Amethi, it can also benefit the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But if she wants to make a bigger point of being one who takes risks, then just any seat could serve the purpose.
With the Gandhis often accused of being ‘fly by night’ politicians, Priyanka has been repeatedly visiting Lucknow. She also has a house in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.
With a contest by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, perhaps, the Congress hopes to put a closure to this “tourist position” tag.
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