Since Priyanka Gandhi Vadra entered active politics in 2019, she has been touted as a potential ouster to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi and a possible successor to Congress supporter Sonia Gandhi in the family stronghold of Rae Bareli.
Priyanka’s party, however, decided to nominate her for the Wayanad Lok Sabha in Kerala, a constituency secured by her elder brother Rahul Gandhi for two consecutive terms. On Monday, Rahul decided to hand over Wayanad to her retaining Rae Bareli, who was earlier represented by their mother Sonia Gandhi.
He won comfortably from Wayanad for the first time in 2019 but lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in the family stronghold of Amethi. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the former Congress leader contested from Wayanad and went from Amethi to Rae Bareli.
After winning both the seats, she decided to leave Wayanad and leave Rae Bareli, 52-year-old Priyanka, whose name was announced as the Congress candidate for the parliamentary seats of Amethi, Rae Bareli, and Varanasi, is finally making her debut in electoral politics from the safe environment of Wayanad, Kerala.
The Congress almost swept the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “I am not nervous at all... I am very happy to represent Wayanad. I am just saying that I will not let them feel his (Rahul’s) absence.” I work hard and try to make everyone happy and be a good representative,” Priyanka said after announcing her candidacy on Monday.
“I have a good relationship with Rae Bareli because I worked there for 20 years. years and this relationship will never break,” he added that he and Rahul are working together in both constituencies.
After joining active politics, he became the chief secretary of the important eastern Uttar Pradesh in January. 2019 and later the general secretary of the entire state Although the performance of her party in the 2019 elections was not very good, she continued her efforts to strengthen the organization at the grassroots.
In December 2023, Priyanka was made “without portfolio” general secretary and became a key strategist of the Congress and later the party’s star campaigner in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also helped strengthen the organization, led the party’s campaign in Himachal Pradesh, and helped it rise to power in the hills.
His campaign helped the Congress in the recently concluded general elections, when the party won 99 seats, compared to 52 seats in 2019. Priyanka is married to businessman Robert Vadra, who has repeatedly expressed interest in running.
Amethi before the Lok Sabha elections. In the end, the seat went to family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma, who defeated BJP leader Smriti Irani. If Priyanka wins the Lok Sabha elections, the Gandhi family would have three members in Parliament for the first time.
His mother Sonia Gandhi is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan. “With Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Parliament, the voice of the people will be much louder,” said party leader Gaurav Gogoi.
After the Congress posted a surprisingly good performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Priyanka cemented her position as the talisman of her party. “The Congress has long been looking for an effective campaigner and in the 2024 elections, Priyanka Gandhi was a revelation in the way she responded to Modi.
Priyanka Gandhi showed that Modi can be fought and can play a key role across India,” said Rasheed Kidwai, who is the author of several books including 24 Akbar Road: A Brief History of the People Behind the Fall and Rise of the Congress.
Political commentator and former Congress leader Sanjay Jha hailed Priyanka Gandhi as an “outstanding activist”. “His sharp and quick rebuttals to Mr. Modi’s jabs worked wonders during the campaign. His presence was a talisman,” he said.
