'Better late than never', says Kharge as Priyanka Gandhi begins her political innings

"Better late than never", is how Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday described the entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into politics, as she began her maiden tour of Uttar Pradesh after she became the general secretary of the party.

Priyanka was made in charge of Uttar Pradesh east by her brother and Congress President Rahul Gandhi last month.

"The people expected her to come sooner. Der aaye durust aaye (better late than never). People are seeing her like (her grandmother and former prime minister) Indira Gandhi. She has a soft behaviour and she talks well and the people in the party see her as a big asset.

"She will make Congress more powerful. If the country has to develop then it needs the leadership of both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi," Kharge told reporters at the venue of TDP leader and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's fast in New Delhi.

Priyanka made her debut in Uttar Pradesh's political arena as Congress general secretary with a grand road show on Monday, raising hopes of a turnaround in the party's fortunes, as her brother and party president Rahul Gandhi asserted that it was the time to uproot the BJP and form the government in the state.

Virtually launching the party's Lok Sabha poll campaign, Priyanka, accompanied by Rahul and Jyotiraditya Scindia, party in-charge of the state's western region, was the cynosure of many eyes with thousands of onlookers, including enthusiastic party workers, jostling to get a glimpse and capture the image of the 47-year-old beaming leader in their phones.