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How Priyanka Gandhi failed in healing India’s ‘grand old party’

24 Mar 2022

BY SAHAN TENNEKOON As a rising world power, Indian politics is very important to the South Asian region and the world at large. The Indian National Congress (INC) is a major political force in Indian national politics. The INC, which has been in power for 54 years, is a large party which has produced six Prime Ministers.  The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has a very significant place in the INC, and the first Prime Minister of independent India, Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi were all members of this family. Rahul Gandhi, the son of Rajiv Gandhi, succeeded Sonia Gandhi as leader and resigned after losing two consecutive parliamentary elections. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's arrival was hailed by party members, as the INC, which is currently in a very weak position, has lost many consecutive elections. Priyanka's charisma was a strength to the party that collapsed due to Rahul Gandhi’s weak, unpopular leadership. Despite belonging to India’s most prominent political family, the 50-year-old – married to businessman Robert Vadra and mother of two children, was popular among Indians even before entering politics, as she looked like her grandmother, late PM Indira Gandhi.  In the recent Uttar Pradesh (UP) elections held in March, the Congress lost a landslide victory, winning only two of the 399 seats. The Amethi seat, the political stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family, also saw a decline in the INC’s popularity. Many people have described the Ghandis as “seasonal visitors”. The INC has not ruled Uttar Pradesh since 1989 and over the years, it has been consistently losing ground in the state.  However, Priyanka Gandhi’s election campaign was very attractive. Priyanka addressed over 160 rallies and over 40 roadshows in UP, but she started focusing on the state towards the fag-end of elections. This time they were campaigning for women voters and the party decided to give 40% of the candidacy to women. But Indian media also reported that women did not cast their ballots adequately. In addition, although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) carried out a strong propaganda campaign based on Hindu nationalism, it appears that the INC was unable to similarly successfully carry out its message to the people. Priyanka and the other leading Congress leaders in UP had failed to address the diversity of Indian society in particular. This election was very important for Priyanka Gandhi. With her brother’s declining popularity, this was seen as a crucial moment in deciding her political future within the party, but the lack of strong leadership from Priyanka to challenge the ruling party has left party members deeply disappointed. Some party members said it was “surprising” that Priyanka did not try to prevent the departure of several senior Congress leaders in UP. Furthermore, some political commentators have pointed out that nepotism and casteism, which are deeply rooted in Congress, have contributed to the party’s decline. Priyanka Gandhi seems to have failed to bring the distant masses into the party due to the distance between the common people and the Congress leaders. With Rahul Gandhi becoming an outdated leader after losing both the 2014 and 2019 general elections, the future of Congress is highly uncertain. With the growing popularity of Prime Minister Modi, the Congress wants charismatic leadership, and many are expecting Priyanka to lead, but since the last election, there have been doubts as to whether she will be able to live up to those expectations. Priyanka has now been clubbed as a failure along with her brother Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, there is growing opposition from within the party to both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. However, it can be assumed that a member of the Gandhi family will also run in the 2024 general elections. According to political commentators, this is a crucial time in Gandhian politics. However, it is too early to say whether the political death of the Gandhi family is imminent. It totally depends on the behaviour of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.  (The author is a freelance writer who is currently studying at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies [BCIS])  ………………………………………  The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.


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