Charm Offensive

After More Than Two Decades Of Speculation, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Finally Takes The Political Plunge. However, It Is Yet To Be Seen If Her Charisma, And Her Similarities To Grandmother Indira, Can Turn Crowds Into Votes.

- Soni Mishra

It was perhaps the most awaited political debut. And, somehow inevitable. Just two months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has—after more than two decades of speculation—finally taken the political plunge. She has become the Congress general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, a state that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

For party workers, she was always a natural-born politician who could disarm people with her charm. More importantly, they saw in her grandmother, Indira Gandhi. She looked similar, dressed like her and even had similar mannerisms.

Back in 1999, impressed by her campaign in Amethi and Rae Bareli, Congress leaders requested her mother Sonia Gandhi to launch her in the Lok Sabha elections, that too against the towering Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow. It was a no from the Gandhi family. The leaders repeated their request in 2004, only to be turned down again. They kept at it, every time the Congress failed at the hustings. But, Priyanka did not cave in. She restricted herself to campaigning for her mother and brother, Rahul, in Rae Bareli and Amethi.

But now, the Congress has finally launched its brahmastra, as the 47-year-old is known in the party, and her reputation precedes her arrival. Congress managers in Amethi and Rae Bareli speak about her remarkable connect with the people and party workers. Once, during the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign, Priyanka got news of an accident involving her cavalcade, in which some people in a van were hurt. She immediately cancelled the day’s schedule and went to meet the injured.