The Congress party today announced the entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics as the party\u2019s General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) from February 1.<\/p>\n
In the past, Priyanka Gandhi had restricted her participation in politics to Amethi and Raebareli \u2013 the constituencies of her brother Congress president Rahul Gandhi and her mother, party chairperson Sonia Gandhi respectively.<\/p>\n
Tipped to be the \u2018Bramhaastra\u2019 or the supreme shotgun of the Congress, her debut in politics will end years of speculation on her role in national politics. Known for her unmistakable likeness to her grandmother Indira Gandhi and her undeniable charisma, the 47-year old Priyanka Gandhi has in the past campaigned extensively for her family in their constituencies since 2004 \u2013 both for national and state elections.<\/p>\n
Playing a pivotal role in decision-making, she was also instrumental in securing the alliance with Akhilesh Yadav\u2019s Samajwadi Party in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections. The meeting anointing Rahul Gandhi as Congress president was also overseen by her, it is said.<\/p>\n
With 80 Lok Sabha seats, Uttar Pradesh is an important state that no political party with ambitions of forming the Central government can ignore. Priyanka Gandhi\u2019s appointment is a result of this consideration. Showcasing the Congress leadership\u2019s understanding that just one leader cannot be invested with the charge of such a vital state and of its intent of taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as combatively as possible, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra\u2019s entry into politics is well-timed by the Congress \u2013 just ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections.<\/p>\n
In a press statement, Jyotiaditya Scindya has been named in-charge of western Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka Gandhi\u2019s debut in politics is expected to energise the party cadres, according to Congress leaders.<\/p>\n
The ruling party has however dismissed her entry into politics as just another instance of how the Congress cannot find \u2018anyone beyond that family\u2019. Calling Priyanka \u2018a crutch\u2019 that the Congress cannot do without, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shrugged off the Congress announcement. It has also, in the past, attacked Robert Vadra \u2013 Priyanka Gandhi\u2019s husband as a corrupt businessman being investigated for dubious land deals in Haryana and Punjab.<\/p>\n
Being looked upon as a challenge to the BJP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra\u2019s entry into politics is celebrated by the Congress as a shot in the arm. The party tweeted that they are \u2018fired up and ready to go\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Congress party today announced the entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics as the party\u2019s General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) from February 1. In the past, Priyanka Gandhi had restricted her participation in politics to Amethi and Raebareli \u2013 the constituencies of her brother Congress president Rahul Gandhi and her mother, party […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":279,"featured_media":4083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/279"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4082"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebengalstory.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=4082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}