Priyanka Gandhi stood by victims of village clash: What next for her in UP

Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, then Congress President Rahul Gandhi, whilst holding a roadshow in Lucknow on February 11, demonstrated uncharacteristic chutzpah, announcing the party would play on the ‘front foot’ in Uttar Pradesh, indicating an aggressive tenor during electioneering.
 
Rahul was accompanied by newly appointed Congress General Secretary in charge of Eastern UP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her Western UP counterpart Jyotiraditya Scindia.
 
Even as the roadshow was aimed at re-energising party cadre and propelling the Congress as a vital stakeholder in the state’s politics, the election results soon put paid to such expectations.
 

The Congress contested nearly 70 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, but its brass was found missing in action, perceptibly leading the charge sitting in Lucknow or New Delhi. The party somehow managed to retain its pocket borough of Rae Bareli contested by Sonia Gandhi, whereas Rahul lost his traditional Amethi turf to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Smriti Irani by 55,000 votes.

 
Having lost the opportunity to resurrect the party’s fortunes in the polls, Priyanka nonetheless recently hogged the limelight personifying cricket’s ‘front foot’ metaphor with her dogged ‘sit-in’ in Mirzapur district. Ten tribals were killed in a shootout in neighbouring Sonbhadra over a land dispute. On July 19, Priyanka was on her way to meet the victims’ kin when she was prevented by the district administration, citing prohibitory orders.

 
The standoff, which continued for more than 24 hours, eased only after the state government acceded to Priyanka’s demand to meet the victims’ kin. Announcing that the Congress would offer compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased, she promised to return once again.
 
It was perhaps the first time the Gandhi scion was witnessed in full action outside Rae Bareli and Amethi, and beyond the social media landscape of Twitter. Her dharna was also amplified across traditional and social media, especially at a time when both Parliament and the UP legislature were in session. The impact was soon felt in the corridors of power in Lucknow.

 
The poignant images of her meeting with victims’ family were splashed across media channels, depicting Priyanka consoling grieving women even as she was herself seen emotionally moved.
 
Meanwhile, she will visit all the 41 Lok Sabha constituencies in eastern UP under her charge to keep the ‘momentum’ going and to accelerate it.  “Not only will Priyankaji visit each of these constituencies, she will also highlight people’s issues with the same intensity as she did in Sonbhadra,” Gaurav Kapoor, UP unit secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) research department, told Business Standard.
 
He said these visits would be completed within a limited window of 45-50 days, once they get going. “These tours will not only garner public support but also boost the morale of our party cadre.” The reconstitution of the party’s local-level committees is also on cards.

 
Political pundits have started lauding Priyanka for exhibiting deftness and determination in leading the comatose party in the most politically significant state, especially with UP slated to witness by-polls in 13 Assembly seats by year-end.
 
“Priyanka has shown political maturity in conducting herself during the sit-in episode. With suspense continuing over Rahul’s leadership role in the Congress, Priyanka’s emergence on the picture must give solace to party elders that a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family is gaining eminence,” said political commentator Pramod Goswami, adding that the family is the glue that binds the party together.
 
With Priyanka’s fast manoeuvre on the Sonbhadra issue, the grand old party has sensed an opportunity to gain public reckoning against the silhouette of a fractured Opposition against the formidable BJP in UP.

 
Main opposition parties, too, were caught off guard as Priyanka launched the attack on the Yogi Adityanath government. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are still to come to terms with the crushing defeat in Lok Sabha polls and their acrimonious break-up of the pre-poll alliance.
 
Goswami claimed the failure of the SP and the BSP to corner the BJP on the Sonbhadra incident only highlighted Brand Priyanka in the state political matrix ahead of the by-polls and the 2022 UP elections. He, however, added that the Congress would need to keep the momentum going, otherwise it would only backfire on the party.

 
“People see the image of former PM Indira Gandhi in Priyankaji and being in charge of the party’s UP affirs, she will continue to raise issues related to the poor and deprived sections of society,” UP Congress Spokesperson Zishan Haider said.