Lucknow: When Priyanka Gandhi Vadra formally joined politics full-time and started focusing on Uttar Pradesh, Congress had 2 MPs and 2 MLAs from their family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli. Just over 3 years later, that number has reduced to just 1 MP, Sonia Gandhi, as the party draws a total blank from the 10 assembly constituencies in the area.
While nobody really expected Priyanka to work any magic in the state, Indian so-called secular journalists still kept promoting Priyanka as a serious player in UP Politics. However, this total demolition of the grand old party in their family bastions may tell Indian media that it takes more than Indira Gandhi’s nose to win an election in India.
As Congress kept sliding all across Uttar Pradesh over the years, they still had these two family bastions where they could still attract votes in the name of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The first big shock for them came when Smriti Irani trounced Rahul Gandhi in a hotly contested election in 2019. Expecting that result, Rahul Gandhi ran to a safe seat in Wayanad in Kerala as his second option. Now with the trend continuing in these assembly elections, Sonia Gandhi may also need to find a safe seat, maybe in Ernakulam in Kerala, in 2024, though there aren’t that many of those left for Congress.
To rub salt into the wounds of Congress, Aditi Singh, who won Rae Bareli on Congress ticket in 2017, is retaining her seat on BJP’s ticket. Congress suspended her from the party in 2020, and now on BJP’s ticket, she has returned to haunt Congress and beat them in Rae Bareli.
Having taken charge of a drowning Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has firmly sunk the party. Now whether she stays in UP, or gets promoted to National President after losing elections like her brother, we wait to find out.