PM Modi hits out at Congress over Priyanka Gandhi's poll plunge

New Delhi, Jan 24: After Congress president Rahul Gandhi appointed sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the party with dynastic politics barb during his interaction with the BJP worker in Maharashtra.

Priyanka's sudden elevation triggered a sharp response from the BJP which described it as acceptance of Rahul Gandhi's failure. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a veiled attack, stressed that 'dynasty politics' was forte of the Congress.

Interacting with BJP workers in Baramati, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Nanded and Nandurbar of Maharashtra via video conferencing, PM Modi said that in BJP is the party which is like a family.

PM Modi's comments came on the day when Priyanka Gandhi was officially given a bigger role in the Congress by the party president.

The move is being seen as one to strengthen the party's hold in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2019 general election.

Priyanka Gandhi had till now actively supervised electioneering only in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the parliamentary constituencies of Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi respectively. Now, Priyanka Gandhi has been given the responsibility of Uttar Pradesh East, a region in which PM Modi's Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi is also situated.

In the past, PM Modi has asserted that he was "ready for a contest between the performance of 'four generations' of the Nehru-Gandhi family and that of 'four years of a chaiwala', a reference to the times when he used to sell tea.