Our Correspondent / New Delhi
Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi today jumped into politics formally as congres president Rahul gandhi appointed her as the generaal secretary of the party.
The Congress chief has made his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra the election in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, finally heralding her into politics. The choice of east UP, which has not been kind to the Congress during elections, pits Priyanka directly against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who wields considerable influence in the region.
At present, Congress has only two Lok Sabha seats of Amethi and Raebareli from Uttar Pradesh. The party had joined hands with the SP in the assembly elections in 2017, but that alliance lost to the BJP. Congress won only seven seats in the 403-member assembly. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP had won 71 seats while its ally Apna Dal came out victorious in two seats. The NDA had vote share of around 42 per cent in 2014 polls
The choice of east UP, which has not been kind to the Congress during elections, pits Priyanka directly against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who wields considerable influence in the region.
The BJP was quick to seize the opportunity to attack Rahul Gandhi, saying the announcement means the Congress has formally declared him a “failure”.
Reacting to Priyanka becoming the General Secretary of Congress, BJP UP in-charge JP Nadda has accused the grand-old party of “dynasty politics”, saying “everyone knows how this household company works. It is also first official declaration from Congress that Rahul ji has failed, he should tell what is his view of Parivarwadi soch?”
Congress Countering BSP-SP Alliance and BJP in UP | Congress leaders say Priyanka Gandhi’s plunge into active party politics will galvanise the ranks to make them prepared for the massive dual challenge posed by the BJP and the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Bringing the 47-year-old on board the campaign shows that the Congress is serious in its promise of making the election in UP a triangular contest after the snub from Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav. Soon after the SP-BSP alliance was announced, Rahul Gandhi had said that he has a surprise in store, but few had predicted it be Priyanka’s political plunge.