The suspense is over—it is Rahul Gandhi, not Priyanka Gandhi, who is contesting from Rae Bareli, the seat their mother, Sonia Gandhi represented five times since 2004 until she entered Rajya Sabha a month ago. And party worker Kishori Lal Sharma will face BJP’s Smriti Irani in Amethi.
Clearly, Rahul Gandhi did not want to take risk a defeat for the second time in what has been a Gandhi fiefdom since 1980. For, it would send a message about his leadership to the party cadre, to Uttar Pradesh, the Gandhi family’s Karmabhoomi, and country. Of course, Amethi is tougher of the two constituencies with Irani, though she faces anti-incumbency, a formidable foe. Priyanka, it is being argued in the party, decided not to contest because she will be required to campaign all over the country. It is possible that she may be bought into the Lok Sabha from the constituency that Rahul decides to vacate if he wins both Rae Bareli and Wayanad.
And yet, having taken the plunge into active politics in 2019, and she is 52 years—it is surprising that Priyanka is not making her electoral debut in 2024. It is also being argued that her standing for elections would have given the BJP additional firepower to attack the congress for furthering dynastic politics with three members of the Gandhi family in Parliament — the assumption being that “three” is crowd as compared with existing “two” . Priyanka has been taking on BJP and Narendra Modi, sometime even more effectively than Rahul, and will be a target of BJP attack as a member of the dynasty whether she is inside or outside Parliament.
The “two” versus “three” dilemma had reportedly surfaced also in 2004 when it was decided that it be would be Rahul not Priyanka for Parliament. The decision was taken together by the family— it was decided that Priyanka’s children were young at the time and she might not be able to give the kind of time that full-time politics would demand of her.
Over the years, many in the Congress have batted for Priyanka saying that she reminded people of her grandmother, Indira Gandhi. But till 2019 she was confined to nursing Amethi and Rae Bareli for her brother and mother. When Arun Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi’s third cousin who had fallen out with Rajiv in the eighties — stood from Rae Bareli on a BJP ticket in , Priyanka scotched his chances with her one liner in Rae Bareli: :Are you going to support someone who betrayed my father? Congress candidate, Satish Sharma won. According to Indira Gandhi’s political aide M L Fotedar, Indira Gandhi, long before she died, saw Priyanka as her political successor. But that was long ago. Since then, country has changed dramatically— there is young India that reacts to the politics of entitlement.
Of late Priyanka has shown a connection with the people at the political rallies, she has addressed in the ongoing campaign. Having said that, her ability to click electorally remains untested. Arguably, Priyanka’s victory from Rae Bareli, had she stood and won from there, would have placed her in a leadership, making her an important pole- and draw—in the Congress party. The party’s decision shows that it is Rahul Gandhi who will be leading the Indian National Congress in the months. (IPA Service)
