THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sachin Pilot, the AICC general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh, is confident that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will emerge as a strong political voice against the BJP on the floor of the Lok Sabha.
With all talk focused on the Nehru-Gandhi family scion bettering her elder brother Rahul Gandhi’s 2019 margin of 4.31 lakh votes from Wayanad, Sachin told TNIE that she will romp home with a handsome margin of over 5 lakh votes.
Sachin, who is in Wayanad to campaign for Priyanka, also rubbished rumours that he will succeed K C Venugopal as AICC general secretary (organisation). The Congress legislator from Tonk assembly constituency, in Rajasthan, shares great camaraderie with Priyanka.
During Sachin’s struggles in politics, especially his tug-of-war with former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, it was Priyanka’s moral support that helped him get back on his feet.
A source close to Sachin said Priyanka was keen to see him come down to Wayanad to campaign for her.
After campaigning in parts of Malappuram which come under the Wayanad LS seat over the weekend, Sachin took to door-to-door canvassing in Chempothara tribal colony, addressed a meeting of professionals, besides barnstorming through Edavanna, Padinjarathara and Vellamunda and visiting the Puthumala burial ground to pay homage to those who lost their lives in the devastating twin landslides earlier in the year.
“Congress workers in Wayanad have set a margin target of over 5 lakh votes for Priyanka. She is an astute politician. Rahul Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Priyanka as Wayanad MP are not like 1+1=2, but 1+1=11; adding up to the power of 11 leaders to take on the BJP,” said Sachin. In the early hours of Sunday, Sachin returned to Rajasthan to campaign in the seven by-elections in his home state.