In the ongoing hectic election season, the Gandhi family has been conspicuous by their absence in the electioneering in West Bengal, which has been quite in contrast to the active engagement of the Gandhi siblings in Kerala and Assam.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party's main campaigners in the elections, have curiously stayed away from the campaigning in West Bengal and have not stepped into the state in the first three phases of polls.
In contrast, Rahul and Priyanka have had a hectic electioneering schedule in neighbouring Assam. In Tamil Nadu, where the party is a junior ally in the DMK-led alliance, Rahul has made his presence felt with comprehensive campaigning incorporating roadshows and public rallies. And it is in Kerala that Rahul has campaigned most extensively, leading from the front with his campaign that has touched every district, and Priyanka chipped in towards the end before exposure to COVID-19 pushed her into isolation.
The Gandhis are learnt to have stayed away from the campaign in West Bengal for more than one reason, and the primary reason is the dichotomy of the party's approach in the eastern state as compared with Kerala. If it has allied with the Left parties in West Bengal to mount a joint fight, in Kerala, it faces the Left Front as its rival.
Also, the Gandhis are learnt to be wary about appearing to attack West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee directly, especially since she is pitted against the BJP, a common rival for the Congress and the TMC at the national level. Other prominent members of the opposition bloc include the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party.
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However, Congress sources say repeated requests have been made by the state unit of the party for Rahul and Priyanka to campaign in West Bengal, and they are expected to hit the campaign trail in the state very soon, especially since elections in the other states, Kerala in particular, would be over.
State leaders also say that it makes more sense for the star campaigners to visit the state now since areas where the party has a substantial presence would go to polls from the fourth phase of elections onwards.
