Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has finally taken the political plunge! Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Wednesday made the hugely significant announcement of appointing Priyanka as the general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh East.
The party announced a slew of changes in the organisation, but the highlight was Priyanka being given an official role in the Congress. The move is being seen as the party placing its trump card on the table just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, and it comes after years of speculation on whether Priyanka would join active politics, and if yes, when.
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Lok Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, who played an important role in the Congress' victory in Madhya Pradesh but lost out to veteran Kamal Nath for the chief minister's post, has been given the crucial assignment of general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh West.
“We do not have any enmity with Mayawatiji or Akhileshji. But we will fight with our full might in Uttar Pradesh... we will never play on the backfoot. This step will bring a new thought and a positive change in UP,” Congress President Rahul Gandhi said about the new party appointments.
“I have given Priyanka and Jyotiraditya a mission, which is to re-establish the Congress's true ideology in UP. I have full confidence that they will do the needful,” he said.
Specifically on Priyanka's political plunge, Gandhi said, “I am very happy that my sister, who is very capable, will work with me. It gives me a lot of happiness personally.”
There has been a persistent demand for Priyanka's entry into politics within the party, and the call for Priyanka in Congress only grew shriller after the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, when it was reduced to just 44 seats.
The 47-year-old Priyanka, who has so far only worked behind the scenes and came to be known as Rahul Gandhi's backroom girl, has played an important role in strategising for the party. Her more evident political role so far has been limited to being campaign manager for Rahul and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in their constituencies Amethi and Rae Bareli, respectively.
The party hopes that Priyanka's appointment as general secretary of the Congress will have a national impact, much beyond the assignment of Uttar Pradesh East that has been given to her, as the assessment is that she is popular and charismatic.
“It is natural that with her appointment as General Secretary, the alarm bells would have rung for our political opponents. She is extremely popular and an extremely efficient leader,” said Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
Also, it is significant that Priyanka has been made in charge of party affairs in UP, showing that the Congress is not willing to give the other contenders a walk over in the coming elections. The move shows that the Congress is extremely serious about the contest in UP, where it was not included by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in their pre-poll alliance. Party leaders describe Priyanka's appointment as a befitting reply to not just the BJP but also the SP and the BSP.
The other important appointments announced on Wednesday, which also signal a generational shift in the party, include K.C. Venugopal being named the new general secretary in charge of organisation, a post which was earlier held by Ashok Gehlot, who is now Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He will continue to hold the charge of Karnataka.
Veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, has now been given the charge of Haryana.
