With no place in SP-BSP alliance & no local face in UP, Congress had only hope in Priyanka Gandhi

New Delhi, Jan 23: A big development occurred in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election due in a few month's time on Wednesday, January 23, when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - sister of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and great granddaughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was appointed as the party's general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. The development naturally left the Congress workers and supporters ecstatic for they had been wanting the 47-year-old's formal entry into politics for some time. On the other hand, the BJP did not find anything special in the announcement and denounced it as yet another instance of dynastic politics.

Priyanka Gandhi though always maintained a distance from formal politics, she has in the past campaigned sincerely for her brother and mother Sonia Gandhi in their constituencies - Amethi and Rae Bareli - respectively, in Lok Sabha as well Assembly elections. If one looks back to Priyanka's involvement in electoral politics even informally, it had happened as back as 1999 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not even at the helm in Gujarat. She has been a hard-working lieutenant for her family members who took care of their constituencies when it mattered.

In the past, whenever the question arose over Priyanka's entry into formal politics, it was said that either she was not interested or that the party was not keen to project both siblings as that could lead to an unfavourable result eventually. But eventually, it happened and exactly after six years since Rahul Gandhi had become the vice-president of the Congress in January 2013.

There could be a few good reasons behind Priyanka's entry at this very time.

With no major allies and strong local leadership, Priyanka was the Congress's only option in UP

First, the non-inclusion of the Congress in the mega alliance between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) - the two big players in UP, had perhaps left little other option for the Congress' top brass. With Sonia Gandhi ailing and Rahul remaining busy with the national politics, it would have been difficult for the Congress to work in the crucial state without a presentable leadership. The Congress was decimated in the state in both the 2014 Lok Sabha election (only Sonia and Rahul won) and the 2017 Assembly election (it won just seven seats out of 403) and in the absence of a viable leadership with which the people can connect themselves, it would have been impossible for the Congress to do good in the state and if it doesn't better its record in UP, the mission to topple Modi from the Centre will remain a dream. With no strong allies and neither local leadership in the party, the Congress had no other way but play the Priyanka card eventually. It also has assigned the task of looking after western UP to Jyotiraditya Scindia, who recently missed out from becoming the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.

Priyanka will get Congress some publicity for sure

Secondly, by roping in Priyanka, the Congress will at least get some better publicity ahead of the big election. The focus will be on Priyanka for sure and given the fact that she has taken charge in East UP where PM Modi and UP Cm Yogi Adityanath also have their zones of influence, the probability of a Modi versus Priyanka showdown can't be ruled out in the Lok Sabha election, just like in 2014 when the over-ambitious Arvind Kejriwal had challenged Modi from Varanasi only to get drubbed badly. But he had his share of publicity undoubtedly. When the SP and BSP have decided to have the full cake and the BJP still a powerful force in the state, the Congress had to bank on some glamour factor to make a space in the prime slots.

We can recall here that during the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Priyanka had a strong dig at Modi after the latter had said she was "like his daughter". Priyanka on that occasion had said that she was the daughter of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Priyanka's projection against Modi could see Indian democracy witnessing its 'Michelle Obama moment' as the US had ahead of the 2016 presidential election when the former first lady had made a tremendous indirect jibe at Donald Trump saying "When they go low, we go high".

What if Priyanka eclipses Rahul?

Priyanka's entry, however, could also have its share of problems for the Congress. First, she is yet to prove herself as a leader who can deliver across the state, especially on turfs away from Amethi and Rae Bareli. Secondly, she will have the baggage of Robert Vadra, her husband, on her shoulders. And thirdly, if Priyanka succeeds in delivering for the Congress in UP, could there be a possibility of her eclipsing her own brother, who has been a slow learner in the art of politics?

Time will tell.