Even though she always knows what’s happening, this was the first time she reviewed plans with party veterans, reports Amit Agnihotri.
There was speculation over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s role in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh after she reviewed the Congress party’s strategy with seniors of the state.
Rahul Gandhi, brother and party vice-president, did not attend the meeting. Priyanka took feedback from the leaders on the Rahul Sandesh Yatra, a carry-forward of the month-long Kisan Yatra he’d undertaken recently across UP, promising a farm loan waiver and halving of electricity bills.
Congress managers have been banking on Priyanka’s charm to turn around the party’s fortunes but comment on her chances of campaigning outside the Gandhi family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli with much caution.
“It is for her to decide the campaign role,” Congress spokesperson R P N Singh said.
Party managers said this was the first time she’d reviewed the UP strategy with veterans, though she was always in the know over what was happening.
The Congress downplayed suggestions that Priyanka was being brought in as Rahul had proven ineffective. “This is far from the truth,” said a state leader.
The party also came out openly against state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who has been recently taking on his uncle, Shivpal Yadav. “There is no development in UP in the past four-and-a-half years.
Factional fights within the ruling Samajwadi Party have come out in the open. They have been busy settling scores with each other than focusing on the problems of the people,” said R P N Singh.
Explaining the “good guy” remark Rahul used to describe Akhilesh, the Congress spokesperson said “it was praise for the person and not the chief minister”.
Sources said the criticism stemmed from the fact that factional fights within the ruling Yadav family would reduce the SP’s prospects. And, pave the way for the Congress to align with the Bahujan Samaj Party in the state assembly polls, now only months away.
However, sources also said they were wary over the daily developments in the Yadav family drama, as there was no finality to the positions both Akhilesh and Shivpal were taking.
