LUCKNOW: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress’ star campaigner, confined her tour to Rae Bareli and nearby places in the last three days and left for New Delhi on Wednesday, hinting that she wanted to work in this Assembly elections but does not have a free hand!
During her stay, Priyanka neither addressed any public meeting nor interacted with mediapersons but mostly had closed-door meetings with the party workers.
By chance or by design, Priyanka does not have a free hand to ensure that she does not dwarf her brother and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi. So she performed just a stage-managed act and left for New Delhi on Wednesday. Two days ago she arrived in Rae Bareli amid much hype but kept a low profile. Why the Congress is not giving a free hand to Priyanka at a time when the party and the UPA Government have deployed their full might to win the forthcoming UP elections.
The polls will not only decide the leader of the state but also give a new direction to the national politics. It may also influence the fate of an already beleaguered UPA government and decide the election to the office of President of India scheduled to be held later this year.
“If Priyanka Gandhi comes for campaigning, it would further strengthen the Congress party,” said Pramod Tewari, a senior party leader. There are others who are echoing the views of Tewari. During her three-day tour, Priyanka covered every Assembly constituency in Rae Bareli, which is represented by her Sonia Gandhi in Lok Sabha, like Salone, Sareni, Rae Bareli Sadar and Oonchahar. She is visiting the region for the first time after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and had to face the same complaint of the voters, “bitiya tum bahut din baad aaye” (daughter you are coming here after a long time). Priyanka told them that her children were small but now she will visit the region frequently. In her interaction with the Congress workers, she exhorted them to ensure the victory of the Congress party in all the Assembly constituencies in Amethi and Rae Bareli.
Priyanka also addressed the grievances of the grassroots workers and developed a good rapport with them.
Taking into consideration the seriousness of the UP elections, Rahul is leading the campaign in the state and coming down heavily on the ruling BSP.