NEW DELHI: Before Priyanka Gandhi Vadra finally joined active politics, adoring Congress folk used to call her the party’s “Brahmaastra”, that is, the ‘ultimate weapon’. Considering the buildup, many may say that the ultimate weapon proved to be rather a dud. Even so, the Congress party considered politics to be her manifest destiny.
Her brother Rahul Gandhi, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is generally not approachable and so the Congress leaders bet on Priyanka.
Before Priyanka Gandhi Vadra finally joined active politics, adoring Congress folk used to call her the party’s “Brahmaastra”, that is, the ‘ultimate weapon’. Considering the buildup, many may say that the ultimate weapon proved to be rather a dud. Even so, the Congress party considered politics to be ‘PGV’s’ manifest destiny.
In the Winter Session of Parliament, Priyanka did not disappoint her admirers in the party with her impassioned speech on the Vande Mataram controversy. Unlike her sibling, the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who often ends up courting controversy on the floor of the House with his fiery comments, she managed to score points against the Modi government all with a smiling face and a gentle but unyielding speech.
The cordiality didn’t end there. Priyanka went ahead making friends and influencing people with a chat over tea and snacks with Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Transport. Reportedly, six projects in Kerala featured in the discussion. Gandhi also attended the Speaker’s tea – the first person from the Gandhi family to do so after the 2024 election results – and wasn’t hesitant to share details about it outside Parliament.
Rahul’s Striking Absence
“Sources” says that even senior government ministers were impressed by her ‘Vande Mataram’ intervention – at a time when Rahul Gandhi, ironically, seemed to have decided that a trip to Germany to meet the Indian diaspora was more important than missing a week of the Winter Session of Parliament.
Many also credit PGV for ensuring that Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, two Congress leaders who have long been left out in the cold in the ‘Rahul’ scheme of things, were allowed to speak in the House. A senior Congress leader considered close to Priyanka rightly points out: “when the cat is away, the mice will play”.
Many also credit Priyanka for ensuring that Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, two Congress leaders who have long been left out in the cold in the ‘Rahul’ scheme of things, were allowed to speak in the House. A senior Congress leader considered close to PGV rightly points out: “when the cat is away, the mice will play”.
Priyanka’s improved public persona – even if orchestrated and intentional – has aroused frenzied debate in the Congress party, which has long been devoid of anything positive to talk about and dampened after a string of election defeats from Maharashtra and Haryana to Delhi and Bihar.
There is an across-the-board unanimity that the Congress better give her a bigger public role, perhaps on par with Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leaders say she is far more accessible than her brother and much more pleasant to deal with, with an ability to say ‘no’ with grace. On the other hand, say senior leaders, Rahul Gandhi is seen as unapproachable and comfortable only with his own coterie of leaders, who keep giving him “unworkable advice”; “without hearing you out”, says a leader, “he [Rahul] will deliver his decision”, cutting you off mid-sentence and leaving the room. Priyanka, in contrast to all that, is perceived and even respected for being a “listener”.
