With Menaka Gandhi advocating her son Varun as chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh, while pressure is mounting on Priyanka Gandhi to shoulder more responsibility in the Party along with charge of the biggest state of the country, speculations are running high that the next battle to form state government would be between the two Gandhi scions.
``We would not form government in UP but I can say with full confidence that if Priyanka Gandhi would took charge of party affairs here in the State, Congress would certainly play a decisive role in formation of next state government”, disclosed one of the Congress sitting MlA who said that Priyanka would certainly end over two decades drought faced by the Party in UP.
The leader further said that it is irony that for last few years, the incharge of Party affairs here in UP has been given to leaders from outside like Digvijay Singh, representing Madhya Pradesh, or even sitting incharge Madhusudan Mistri, hailing from Gujrat. ``Priyanka Gandhi belongs to UP, the State which always play vital role in formation of the Central Government so it is high time that Gandhi family should forward her services specially for UP in the interest of the Party in order to give it new lease of life”, asserted the leader.
Interestingly when questioned that why not Rahul Gandhi or even Sonia Gandhi could change fortune of the Party in UP even when they too are Gandhi scions and represents the State, the leader replied that people know that they are national leaders and remained in New Delhi so they wanted someone (read Priyanka) who stood for UP and lift it from backwardness, lawlessness and pushed it back on the track of development. ``Priyanka’s leadership would also end large scale infighting amongst the local Congressmen hence the Party would definitely be benefited”, he added.
Meanwhile demand of bringing in Priyanka started gaining momentum. ‘Congress ka Moon, Priyanka is coming soon”, the new posters of the Congress leaders in the Sangam city (Allahadbad) has again raked up the issue of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s entry in active politics after the Congress debacle in the lok Sabha elections.
The controversial banner has been put up at the Subhash Chowk in the civil lines area of the city. The banner however sans the photo of Rahul Gandhi but has the photos of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka along with local Congress leaders Haseeb Ahmed and Shirish Chandra Dubey. Ahmed, who claims himself to be the city president of the party, said that Priyanka would certainly take the control of the party and revive it. He said that Priyanka deserves a larger role in the party after Rahul Gandhi led the party to a disaster in the general elections. “Priyanka did not run for polls but managed the campaigns of her brother and mother, and constructed an aggressive attack on Narendra Modi. It was because of her that the party could win the two seats for Rahul and Sonia,” Ahmed claimed.
Earlier the duo who had been suspended from the party for erecting similar hoardings in the city last year but was later withdrawn, has pasted posters a fortnight back saying,” Shah ko agar dena hai maat, Priyanka ko saup do Congress ka haath.”. Poster war in Allahabad demanding bigger role of Priyanka in the Congress is continuing for the past couple of years after the UP assembly election in 2012. But surprisingly in the past all posters and hoardings the Congress leaders did not mention Rahul Gandhi nor carried his photos. The posters plead, “Maiyya do aadesh, Priyanka badhaye Congress ka kad” and “Aa jao Priyanka, Chha jao Priyanka”.