When Sonia Gandhi made her electoral debut in 1999 in Amethi, a young Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her to the Gandhi family pocketborough. She stood like a rock behind her mother and impressed Congress leaders and the electorate alike with the ease with which she reached out to the people. Comparisons were immediately made with her grandmother, the formidable Indira Gandhi.
In the same election, she also campaigned in the neighbouring Rae Bareli, where Arun Nehru, a relative and once a close associate of her father, Rajiv Gandhi, was contesting. Nehru, who had fallen out with Rajiv and became a political opponent, was believed to be doing well in the campaign. That was until Priyanka made an emotive plea to the voters of Rae Bareli, asking them if they would vote for a person who had backstabbed her father. Nehru lost the election.
Even before that Priyanka had displayed her natural ability to connect with the people. In 1991, she had gone to Allahabad with Sonia and Rahul to immerse the ashes of Rajiv in the Ganga. When they returned to the riverbank and were about to enter the car, she turned towards the crowd that had gathered and bowed to the people with folded hands to acknowledge their goodwill.
Every time there is a Lok Sabha election, rumours of Priyanka contesting abound. In 2004, it was said that she would contest from Amethi and Sonia would move to Rae Bareli. Sonia did move to Rae Bareli, but it was Rahul who got the ticket from Amethi to make his electoral debut.
This time round, yet again, there was intense speculation that Priyanka, 52, would contest from Rae Bareli, which was vacated by Sonia earlier this year when she moved to the Rajya Sabha, and Rahul would try to win back Amethi. However, in what turned out to be a brilliant move in hindsight, Rahul contested from Rae Bareli and K.L. Sharma, who has been managing Amethi for the Gandhi family for many years, was fielded against BJP’s Smriti Irani.
Twenty-five years after she first hit the campaign trail in Amethi and Rae Bareli, Priyanka once again took up the onus of ensuring the Congress’s victory in the two seats. However, when she camped there for 10 days and ran a relentless campaign, it had an impact beyond those two seats. When she reminded people about her family’s sacrifices or took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his ‘mangalsutra’ or ‘buffalo’ remarks, she was heard everywhere in the state.
And she is likely to be heard soon in Parliament, too. Priyanka will make her electoral debut in Wayanad, Kerala, the seat Rahul has chosen to vacate. “The decision makes it clear that Rahul and Priyanka will together raise the issues of the people of the country, from the north and the south, in Parliament,” said Alka Lamba, president of the Mahila Congress.
Priyanka has always been a pillar of strength for her brother in his political journey―as his backroom strategist in the beginning and later as a manager and a campaigner. She had looked on from the shadows as Rahul accepted the many defeats of the party since 2014. This time round, a beaming Priyanka cheered from the sidelines as Rahul addressed the media at the party office on June 4 after an impressive show in the elections.
Critics say Priyanka failed miserably as the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, with the party plummeting to less than 2 per cent vote share and just two seats in the assembly polls in 2022. There was also criticism of her role in the changes brought about in the party in Punjab in 2021, where Navjot Singh Sidhu was appointed state unit chief and Amarinder Singh was removed as chief minister ahead of the elections. But she is also credited with steadying the ship in Rajasthan when the Ashok Gehlot government faced an open rebellion from Sachin Pilot in 2020 and, more recently, with saving the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government in Himachal Pradesh by working out a truce between the chief minister and the rival camp represented by state party chief Pratibha Singh.
The Gandhis clearly are keen on nurturing the Wayanad constituency. They also want to make it clear that they are not abandoning it after Rahul won from Rae Bareli as it stood by the Congress when the party’s fortunes were bleak. It is also significant in view of the assembly elections in the state scheduled to be held in 2026. The Congress is keen to build on the momentum provided by the Lok Sabha polls, in which the United Democratic Front won 18 of the 20 seats in the state.
“Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad is evidence of Rahul Gandhi’s strong bond with the constituency. We will ensure that she wins by a margin even bigger than that of Rahul,” said N.D. Appachan, district president of the Congress in Wayanad.
As Priyanka has gradually spread her political presence, comparisons have been made with her brother on their political acumen. But those in their close circle claim they work as a team, not competitors. “Priyanka Gandhi is aggressive and has forcefully countered the attacks made on her family. Rahul Gandhi’s approach is different and he has focused on issues of national importance,” said Prof Ram Kishore Shastri, who belongs to Amethi and has taught at Allahabad University.
Rahul and Priyanka complement each other. At the end of the campaign for the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies, they recorded a video during a drive through the area in which they recalled their childhood years. Priyanka recollected that Rahul was Indira’s pet and Rahul immediately pointed out that she was Rajiv’s favourite. Priyanka said she was diplomatic in the way she put forth her views, while Rahul could be brutally blunt.
The presence of Rahul and Priyanka in the Lok Sabha will surely make the proceedings more riveting. On the other hand, it also will give the BJP the ammo to attack the Congress over dynastic politics.