Holding up a copy of the Constitution, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took oath as a Lok Sabha MP on Thursday to begin her journey as an elected representative of the people five years after she joined active politics.
The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, took affirmation in Hindi.
The MP from Wayanad in Kerala held up a red and black copy of the Constitution, which Rahul Gandhi has been displaying at his public meetings, as she took her oath.
Dressed in a cream Kasavu saree from Kerala, Priyanka Gandhi rose to take oath amid cheers of 'Jodo Jodo, Bharat Jodo' from the Congress benches. She took oath with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, her mother and Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chief Sonia Gandhi, husband Robert Vadra, son Raihan and daughter Miraya watching from the galleries.
Congress MPs earlier met at the CPP office in the Parliament premises where Priyanka Gandhi was greeted and congratulated by leaders.
After taking oath, Priyanka Gandhi completed the formalities and then shared a warm hug with her brother and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
Ravindra Chavan (Congress), who won the Nanded bypoll also took oath in Marathi in the name of god. The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of his father Vasantrao Chavan recently.
The House was adjourned after the oaths as opposition members came to the Well of the House and raised slogans, demanding a discussion on the Adani issue and the Sambhal violence.
As MPs exited the House, leaders made a beeline to congratulate Priyanka Gandhi and on the steps of the Makar Dwar. Congress MPs gathered as Rahul Gandhi clicked a photograph of Priyanka Gandhi with the Samvidhan Sadan in the background.
Priyanka Gandhi also met the Congress president after taking oath and took his blessings.
She took the plunge into active politics in 2019 and was later appointed Congress general secretary. Five years after that, Priyanka Gandhi begins her journey as an elected representative of the people.
With a winning margin of more than 4.1 lakh votes, she surpassed the tally of her brother Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad in Kerala.
Priyanka Gandhi's entry into Parliament comes at a difficult time for the party, which has been jolted by electoral defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra. It would be interesting to see if she is able to give a much-needed fillip to the grand old party and help put it back on the electoral track.
Often drawing comparisons with her grandmother Indira Gandhi for their similarity in looks and way of speaking, Priyanka Gandhi has been the go-to campaigner for the party since her entry into active politics and even before that when she campaigned for her mother Sonia and brother Rahul.
And more than both, she is the one who many say has the easiest touch when it comes to communicating with people, individuals and crowds, and also in articulating the party's viewpoint on a range of issues. That she is often seen with her brother, sometimes teasing, sometimes chiding and always affectionate, has added to the image of the convivial politician.
Frequently referring to her childhood, the pain of her father Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and her mother's grief, she steered the Congress' campaign during the general election, adroitly walking the tightrope between striking a familial chord and discussing national-level issues. She proved to be a strategist, orator and mass mobiliser -- all rolled into one.
Most of her speeches are akin to a conversation with the crowd, establishing a connect and giving people the impression that here was a person who was known to them, someone sharing her feelings and thoughts with them.
As star campaigner and strategiser, Priyanka Gandhi helped the Congress make impressive gains in some states as well as in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier in the year. Her campaign helped the Congress get 99 seats in the general election, up from 52 in 2019.
Priyanka Gandhi has often been projected as a possible challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi and also as a successor to Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi in the family pocket borough of Rae Bareli.
However, soon after the Election Commission announced the Wayanad bypoll, the Congress declared that Priyanka Gandhi would be its candidate from the seat in Kerala. Rahul Gandhi, it decided, would retain the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat he won for the second consecutive time.
Congress leaders from Wayanad handed over the election certificate of the Wayanad parliamentary by-election to Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday and conveyed their best wishes.
Born on January 12, 1972, Priyanka attended New Delhi's Modern School and the Convent of Jesus and Mary. She holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, and also has a master's degree in Buddhist studies.
Her entry into Parliament has been long awaited by party's workers and supporters and they are hoping she will provide the booster shot the party needs in its difficult phase at the hustings going forward.
