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Why Priyanka Gandhi's entry into politics could haunt Modi in 2019 polls

Long overshadowed by her older brother, the younger Gandhi is a fixture in the backrooms of Indian politics

Priyanka Gandhi
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In this Feb 3, 2012 file photo Priyanka Vadra is seen at an election campaign in Amethi. The Congress party on Wednesday, Jan 23, 2019 appointed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary of Uttar Pradesh East

Iain Marlow | Bloomberg
The freshest face in Indian politics looks a lot like one from the past. And it could haunt Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he mounts an increasingly fraught bid for re-election.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, 47, who was formally appointed to a senior role in India’s opposition Congress Party this week, has the curly hair, bearing and crowd-drawing appeal of her formidable grandmother. As prime minister, Indira Gandhi towered over Indian politics for decades and sent shivers into her opponents, some of whom she jailed -- including the two founders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

That’s a far cry from the