Priyanka’s poll debut

THE Congress’ encouraging performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections has prompted former party president Rahul Gandhi to retain the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the one in Wayanad, Kerala. His sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was appointed Congress general secretary in 2019, will make her electoral debut in the Wayanad bypoll. The grand old party, which had been reduced to a nonentity in UP, made a comeback in the 2024 parliamentary polls in alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP). The Congress bagged six seats, including the Gandhi family bastions of Raebareli and Amethi. Priyanka is believed to have played a key role in helping the party win the two prestigious seats, especially Amethi, where Rahul had suffered a shock defeat in 2019.

It is obvious that the Congress wants to build on the gains made in UP and actively assist the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP in dislodging the ruling BJP in the 2027 Assembly elections. Rahul’s long-term presence in the state is a must to energise the party rank and file. For the record, the Congress had hit a new low in the 2022 Assembly polls, winning just two seats in the state with the highest political stakes.

Having made major inroads into the South in recent years, the Congress has chosen a presumably easy seat for Priyanka. The Congress-led United Democratic Front swept the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, winning 18 of the 20 seats, even as the BJP managed to open its account. Both the BJP and the CPI have trained their guns on Rahul, alleging that he did not inform voters of Wayanad beforehand about his plan to contest from two constituencies. Nevertheless, the Congress is confident that the electorate of this constituency will send another Gandhi to Parliament, that too a first-timer, thus strengthening the resurgent Opposition.