October 28, 2024
NEW DELHI – Congress party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s entry into electoral politics is strengthening hopes within the grand old party of a political rejuvenation.
For many Congress party loyalists, a long-cherished dream has also come true after Mrs Vadra, 52, filed her nomination papers on Oct 23 to stand in a by-election for the Kerala state’s Wayanad ward in India’s Lok Sabha, or Lower House of Parliament.
While she had formally taken on responsibilities within the party in 2019 when she became a general secretary in Congress, this is the first time that she is standing for an election, a longstanding demand within the party.
The prospect of another Nehru-Gandhi scion entering active electoral politics is coming at an opportune time.
Congress is seeking to convert a good showing in the general election earlier in 2024, where it almost doubled its seat tally from 52 to 99, into a full-fledged political revival to rival the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I am sure she is going to be one of the major pillars along with (her brother) Rahul in due course. She should craft herself as (a) people’s leader,” associate professor of political science at Delhi University Tanvir Aeija, who is also vice-chairman of the Centre for Multilevel Federalism think-tank, told The Straits Times.
“They have got a tag of being elite. She has to break that mould… and prove she is a pan-Indian leader,” he said.
“Whether one likes or dislikes (it), the Nehru-Gandhi family is the fulcrum of Congress. If you remove that fulcrum, Congress collapses because there are so many factions (within the party).”
The storied Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty has given India three prime ministers – Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi.
Mrs Vadra – who bears a striking resemblance to her grandmother Indira Gandhi, is known to be articulate and has the ability to connect with people – has thus far kept a low profile.
She has been working behind the scenes, managing the party’s affairs in states such as Uttar Pradesh and campaigning for the party and her family in election seasons.
In the June election, Mr Rahul Gandhi, 54, won in two constituencies. Under Indian law, while candidates can stand in multiple constituencies, they can represent only one.
Instead of Wayanad, he chose to take up the seat in the Rae Bareli constituency, a long-held bastion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi family, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, necessitating this Nov 13 by-election.
There were calls within the Congress party for Mrs Vadra to run directly in the 2024 General Election against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Varanasi constituency. While Mr Modi eventually won against other candidates, he did so with a smaller margin than in previous elections.
But Mrs Vadra remains politically untested.
“I have campaigned for my mother, my brother and many other colleagues in different elections. This is the first time I am campaigning for myself,” Mrs Vadra said on Oct 23 at a rally announcing her candidacy in Wayanad.
She and Mr Rahul Gandhi are seen to be close, their bond forged by loss and tragedy at a young age. Their grandmother was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards when she was prime minister in 1984, while their father was assassinated on the campaign trail in 1991 by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militants.
(From left) Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her children, Congress party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, at a rally in Wayanad on Oct 23. PHOTO: CONGRESS PARTY/THE STRAITS TIMES
At the same rally in Wayanad on Oct 23, Mr Rahul Gandhi said: “When my father died, my sister, who was just 17, looked after my mother. I’m confident my sister can do anything for her family.
“And Wayanad is family for her.”
While Mrs Vadra is tipped as the front runner, she is not without competition. The BJP has announced software engineer Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor from Kerala, as its candidate. Mrs Vadra is also up against veteran Left leader Sathyan Mokeri, a member of the legislative assembly, contesting for the Left Democratic Front.
If Mrs Vadra wins, she will join her brother as the third Gandhi, along with their mother Sonia, bolstering Congress ranks in Parliament.
Journalist and author Rasheed Kidwai said: “(If she wins,) Rahul will have a cheerleader in Priyanka who will organise and regroup party MPs for Rahul Gandhi in a more vocal manner.”
He predicted that “Priyanka will fashion herself more in the role of crisis manager and a listening post”.
Still, her electoral debut has already invited a charge of nepotism from the BJP, which has long run a campaign contrasting PM Modi’s humble roots and his gradual progression to the leadership role with Mr Gandhi’s political lineage, which ensured party leadership.
The BJP has also questioned her businessman husband Robert Vadra’s net worth. Mr Vadra has been mired in controversy, facing charges including money laundering in cases that he has said were politically motivated.
A BJP spokesperson called Mrs Vadra’s decision to fight in Wayanad a “victory… of dynastic politics and defeat of merit”.
Within the Congress party, however, expectations are already running high.
“She will be a great voice for the party in Parliament,” said Mr Prashant Kanojia, a young Congress politician.
He noted that she would also bolster the Congress party’s presence in the south, where the BJP has found it challenging to deepen its influence and is dependent on regional allies.
Still, Congress is by no means sure of a political revival. The party continues to face a series of challenges from factionalism to building the cadre, which has weakened in many states, and taking on the BJP.
The party’s general election euphoria was tempered early in October by a state assembly electoral loss in the northern state of Haryana, where it was widely tipped to win. Infighting and the BJP’s ability to correct its course even in the midst of an election are seen to have contributed to the loss.
As a result, the pressure is now on Congress in the next set of elections in the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand, where it is fighting as part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, a grouping of opposition parties.
“If the BJP wins (in the next round of state elections), then certainly this will put Congress on the back foot,” said political analyst Manisha Priyam.
“The BJP has been able to out-muscle Congress even when they have headwinds with them and things are going for them,” she added of the state polls.
But she noted that Mrs Vadra’s chances of a win in Wayanad remained high.
“I particularly see high chances of Priyanka Gandhi (winning) there, particularly if both (the Gandhi siblings) are able to campaign well.”