Rahul-Priyanka combine game changer for Cong in LS polls; country needs young team: Pitroda

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will complement Congress president Rahul Gandhi's efforts in winning over young voters and the brother-sister combine will be a game changer for the party in the Lok Sabha polls as the country needs a young team, technocrat-turned-politician Sam Pitroda said Sunday.

He said the Rahul-Priyanka duo will make a "great team" along with many other young leaders active in the party, including Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora, as people who can take the country forward, rather than keeping it hung up on history and religion.

Pitroda, the Indian Overseas Congress chief and a long-time friend of the Gandhi family, also said Rahul Gandhi has learnt a lot from the 2014 elections and is much more "mature, stronger, wiser", and ready to take on the job of Prime Minister.

In an interview with PTI from Chicago, he said India needs a young person with a new inclusive vision of the future, focus on employment, and new opportunities for all, to lead.

"India today needs somebody who believes in teamwork, collaboration and cooperation as opposed to a centralised power centre. India today really needs someone who believes in truth rather than lies, who believes in trust and not mistrust, who believes in inclusion and not exclusion. Rahul is at the right age to lead India," Pitroda said.

Asked about Priyanka Gandhi's entry into active politics as AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East, he said she will be a "great asset and a good politician".

"She will complement her brother's efforts. She will join him in getting young people excited, especially women. They are both young, they represent a large young team in the party, they are modern, they are tech-savvy with a healthy respect for history and new vision for the future.

"I am confident that they will attract more young people in the mainstream and that is what a young India needs," Pitroda said.

Pitroda, who divides his time between the US and India, is seen as a key adviser of the Gandhis.

Asked if the Rahul-Priyanka team will be a game changer for the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May, he said: "I think it will be. People will see the benefit of a younger team with a modern outlook. The country needs to look forward rather than backwards, and not get hung up on history and religion."
"He (Gandhi) interacts with students wherever he goes. So it's a different format."
On the EVM issue, he said no one has used electronic voting technology the way India has. "It deserves a lot more attention than we are willing to give. You can't just brush it aside."