2014 General Elections: Many Congress leaders want a bigger role for Priyanka Gandhi
By Samanwaya Rautray, ET Bureau | 22 Sep, 2013, 01.44PM IST
The right wing votes seem to be slowly and surely coalescing behind newly anointed BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, pollsters and pundits would have us believe, but for now the Congress is playing it safe stubbornly refusing to pit party No 2 Rahul Gandhi against the pugnacious Gujarat strongman.
From all accounts, though, Rahul, the de facto No 1, will be willy-nilly pitted against Modi. A section of Congressmen — who are unwilling to speak on record — fears that going into poll mode with only the reticent Rahul at the helm may be too much of a risk and may well be akin to giving Modi a virtual walkover; they want a bigger role for the effervescent Priyanka Gandhi in the runup to the 2014 general elections.
Priyanka Power A senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity that the party's star campaigner Priyanka already plays a key role in managing both her mother and brother's constituencies. She's also been her mother's most trusted political adviser. "She's taking on more and more work," he insists. "But whether or not she wants to be just the star campaigner or more will be a call that she and the family will have to take. We can only hope and pray that she takes on a bigger role."
Gandhi family loyalist RK Dhawan would only venture to say that it was a call that the Gandhis would have to take. Priyanka's Achilles' heel may be her controversial businessman husband Robert Vadra, whose name has cropped up in alleged shady land deals. A Congressman, however, feels in any case the party should only test only one or the other, not both its generals, in the upcoming war. "Why should the party use its brahmastra [Priyanka] now?" What's more, if Rahul is the man there is no point diluting focus by backing two horses instead of just one. And, for this Congressman, Rahul, who has held some 200 meetings in UP in recent times, "is here to stay".
Somnath Chatterjee, a former Lok Sabha speaker, laments the trend of deriding someone because of his family legacy. "It should be always about the principles of the parties, their programmes and not about the person. Young politicians have certain political ideologies; they should have the freedom to espouse them. Why the snide remarks? If he doesn't deliver, his party will suffer," he says.
The Opposition, for its part, is happier being less charitable about Rahul. "The vision of Rahul Gandhi is yet to be known. He rarely speaks in parliament. The country's economy is in a shambles, but he has yet to speak a word to assure the people or investors," says BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
"All contemporaneous issues that bother the country, be they on economy, polity, security, elude him; yet he remains the second most important leader in his party!" Political analyst Yogendra Yadav, now an Aam Aadmi Party member, says Rahul's good intentions have been let down by a weak party structure and a lack of concrete programmes to make any political capital out of it.
"It is not that any of his gestures such as visiting Dalit hamlets lack relevance now; but there is no party organisation to coalesce it into programmes as a result of which whatever Rahul Gandhi says seems insincere, shallow and fragmentary," says Yadav. "It is a bit like being Narendra Modi. No matter what he says he is understood to mean certain things even before he speaks. That is his problem."
Fresh Face
Academician Zoya Hassan, however, believes that much of the opposition to Rahul is due to the pro-socialist, welfare-driven agenda that he has adopted as his legacy from his mother. "The Opposition, especially from the corporate, capitalist sector, is now not restricted to animosity, it almost borders on hostility," she says. A senior Congress leader dismisses any talk of Priyanka as an alternative to Rahul as "mischievous".
From all accounts, though, Rahul, the de facto No 1, will be willy-nilly pitted against Modi. A section of Congressmen — who are unwilling to speak on record — fears that going into poll mode with only the reticent Rahul at the helm may be too much of a risk and may well be akin to giving Modi a virtual walkover; they want a bigger role for the effervescent Priyanka Gandhi in the runup to the 2014 general elections.
A section of Congressmen fears that going into poll mode with only the reticent Rahul at the helm may be too much of a risk and may well be akin to giving Modi a virtual walkover.Priyanka Power A senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity that the party's star campaigner Priyanka already plays a key role in managing both her mother and brother's constituencies. She's also been her mother's most trusted political adviser. "She's taking on more and more work," he insists. "But whether or not she wants to be just the star campaigner or more will be a call that she and the family will have to take. We can only hope and pray that she takes on a bigger role."
Gandhi family loyalist RK Dhawan would only venture to say that it was a call that the Gandhis would have to take. Priyanka's Achilles' heel may be her controversial businessman husband Robert Vadra, whose name has cropped up in alleged shady land deals. A Congressman, however, feels in any case the party should only test only one or the other, not both its generals, in the upcoming war. "Why should the party use its brahmastra [Priyanka] now?" What's more, if Rahul is the man there is no point diluting focus by backing two horses instead of just one. And, for this Congressman, Rahul, who has held some 200 meetings in UP in recent times, "is here to stay".
Somnath Chatterjee, a former Lok Sabha speaker, laments the trend of deriding someone because of his family legacy. "It should be always about the principles of the parties, their programmes and not about the person. Young politicians have certain political ideologies; they should have the freedom to espouse them. Why the snide remarks? If he doesn't deliver, his party will suffer," he says.
The Opposition, for its part, is happier being less charitable about Rahul. "The vision of Rahul Gandhi is yet to be known. He rarely speaks in parliament. The country's economy is in a shambles, but he has yet to speak a word to assure the people or investors," says BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
"All contemporaneous issues that bother the country, be they on economy, polity, security, elude him; yet he remains the second most important leader in his party!" Political analyst Yogendra Yadav, now an Aam Aadmi Party member, says Rahul's good intentions have been let down by a weak party structure and a lack of concrete programmes to make any political capital out of it.
"It is not that any of his gestures such as visiting Dalit hamlets lack relevance now; but there is no party organisation to coalesce it into programmes as a result of which whatever Rahul Gandhi says seems insincere, shallow and fragmentary," says Yadav. "It is a bit like being Narendra Modi. No matter what he says he is understood to mean certain things even before he speaks. That is his problem."
Fresh Face
Academician Zoya Hassan, however, believes that much of the opposition to Rahul is due to the pro-socialist, welfare-driven agenda that he has adopted as his legacy from his mother. "The Opposition, especially from the corporate, capitalist sector, is now not restricted to animosity, it almost borders on hostility," she says. A senior Congress leader dismisses any talk of Priyanka as an alternative to Rahul as "mischievous".
"Rahul and Priyanka work in perfect harmony and tandem. Have you ever seen such harmony in a powerful political family? Those who are doing so [propping up Priyanka] are doing so to drive a wedge in the family. Rahul Gandhi's performance is a completely different issue." Strategically, it may not be a bad idea to prop up Priyanka as the Congress PM candidate in the last lap of campaigning.
"Priyanka's definitely the better face, a fresh face, a fresh name; she seems friendly and accessible," says brand consultant Santosh Desai. However, he adds that a fresher political face "is only a small part of political leadership. You can go only so far on the basis of your personal charisma".
Others dismiss the talk of an either/or choice between the brother sister duo as a Hobson's choice. Bhaskara Rao, research director of NGO Social Watch India, dubs them both as "bad choices". "Dynastic politics is one of the problems facing India," he says, tracing it back to the lack of "internal democracy" in political parties in India.
"Priyanka's definitely the better face, a fresh face, a fresh name; she seems friendly and accessible," says brand consultant Santosh Desai. However, he adds that a fresher political face "is only a small part of political leadership. You can go only so far on the basis of your personal charisma".
Others dismiss the talk of an either/or choice between the brother sister duo as a Hobson's choice. Bhaskara Rao, research director of NGO Social Watch India, dubs them both as "bad choices". "Dynastic politics is one of the problems facing India," he says, tracing it back to the lack of "internal democracy" in political parties in India.
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