In the face of yet another electoral loss in local bodies elections in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will face her big — and in some way also the first — electors’ challenge in next year Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh of which she is in charge.
While the grand old party is smarting under a series of electoral defeats and panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh has given no relief to Congress, talks are there within the party whether to put forth Priyanka as the party’s Chief Ministerial face in the State.
While there may be talks about the dismal performance of the Congress in just concluded panchayat polls, the mood within the State unit is upbeat as UP Congress communication department claimed that 270 party backed candidates secured win , while it remained second on 570 pockets and third at 711 seats across the State.
However, results available for 3,050 district panchayat wards showed SP at 760 wards, BJP at 719, BSP at 381 and Congress just at 79 while Independents and smaller parties secured victories or led in 1,114 wards.
AICC sources said during the last two days Priyanka was in touch with party workers to assess the performance of the party in panchayat polls..h Priyanka had repeatedly written many times to UP state authorities not to conduct the panchayat polls in the wake of surge on covid cases in the State.
The panchayat election is being seen as a barometer for political parties including the incumbent BJP for assembly elections scheduled next year. In the 2017 assembly elections, poll strategist Prashant Kishor whom the party hired, had suggested Priyanka’s name to be projected as CM face which the Sonia Gandhi family declined there after name of Sheila Dikshit was proposed.
Samajwadi Party has already indicted it doesn’t favour a 2017 type pact with Congress and in all probability Priyanka will have to enter into the elections on her own. Priyanka forayed as full time politician and campaigned extensively in UP alongwith her brother and the then Congress President Rahul Gandhi during the General Elections 2019. After a dismal show, Priyanka did not leave the UP turf and had been regular to the State and also worked in re-establishing the Nehru legacy.
“A brahmin face for CM post is on cards. Last assembly elections former Delhi CM Late Sheila Dikshit was made the CM face,” said a senior AICC leader when asked about the party’s fate after suffering a jolt in the panchayat elections.
Media Convenor of UP Congress Lallan Singh said assembly elections are totally a different ball game and this time under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi will see a resurrection.
“Most of the workers in middle of the panchayat elections engaged themselves in reaching out for medical needs of the needy people sooner there were a surge in the pandemic cases in the State. We got a direction to give priority to health of people than politics. Yet we fared excellent when compared to ruling BJP so the next assembly elections will be fought between Congress and SP. There is a widespread resentment against the Yogi and Central Government both for complete failure of the system and handling of the corona pandemic “ Singh told The Pioneer over phone.
A UP Congress office bearer recalled as how Priyanka Gandhi during a meeting with the newly appointed Office bearer on October 22 at Rae Bareli had indicated that the grand old party will go solo in the UP Assembly polls scheduled for 2022
Once a stronghold in UP, Congress has not been in power in the State for the last three decades. After winning 269 seats in the 1985 Assembly polls (prior to the creation of Uttarakhand as a separate State in 2000), it’s presence has only declined.
The party won only 46 seats in 1991 at the peak of Mandal-Kamdal politics and finally ended with worst ever performance in 2017, when it won just seven seats in the State’s 403 assembly seats when it went to polls as an alliance partner with the then sitting CM and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Poll strategist had indicated that a truck with Congress affected the prospects of SP as well.
As per the data from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls while BJP polled a whopping 49.6% of the votes, the SP and the BSP got 18% and 19.3% respectively, while the Congress netted a meagre 6.3% share and worst it lost the home turf of party chief Rahul Gandhi at Amethi.
While the reorganization of the AICC has remained merely on talks for months, Priyanka initiated the overhauling process with appointment of Ajay Kumar Lallu as State chief by replacing Raj Babbar who represented Congress two times as Lok Sabha member from the State. The Congress also changed 51 district committee presidents.