Months after going on the campaign trail for her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul, now Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may not be averse to take a plunge into organisational politics of the grand old party to help revive the Congress, which has been decimated in successive polls in the country.
Some disgruntled senior leaders who have publicly expressed their dismay about the larger role played by “sycophants” of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, have been lobbying hard to rope in Priyanka In fact, some party leaders are thinking of starting widespread consultations within the organisation as part of their campaign to bring Priyanka in the party to share Rahul’s burden and restructure the organisation. Priyanka’s role has so far been restricted to Sonia’s parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli and Rahul’s Amethi.
“She may not be averse to accepting a role in the organization now, provided it is approved by her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul,” said a very close associate of the Gandhi-Nehru family for decades.The “Priyanka lao” lobby got hyperactive after several top party functionaries, including former Union Ministers were not invited for Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations held recently.
In the past, senior leaders like Janardan Dwivedi have pointed out how in 1990 the late Rajiv Gandhi commented on the political acumen of his daughter Priyanka. Her grandmother, the late Indira Gandhi too was keen to see her granddaughter play a major role in politics. Dwivedi had to face the ire of Congress leaders for his comment that “though Congressmen respect Rahul, Priyanka is adored.”
“Few days before her assassination, Indira Gandhi had expressed to her then political advisor Ml Fotedar that her granddaughter should be her political heir. Fotedar once raised the issue of Priyanka’s entry into politics citing Indira Gandhi’s interest to Sonia Gandhi, but she was not keen and after that Fotedar too was sidelined in the party,” said the leader reminiscing some of the deliberations on Priyanka within the party circles.
The leader, who requested anonymity, said that this is not the first time that people are saying that Rahul and Priyanka should together lead the show. The idea was first mooted by the old war horse CK Jaffer Sharief a few months before the 2004 lok Sabha polls. Priyanka helped the party in strategising the election campaign, but did not play a bigger role.
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