New Delhi, January 23 (Indian Express/newsin.asia): Congress party cadre in the populous North Indian State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) see the entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics as General Secretary for Eastern UP as a game-changer ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in mid-2019.
Priyanka is the daughter of Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi and is the elder sister of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
The appointment of a scion of the Nehru-Indira Gandhi family is significant for two reasons: Firstly Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to seek re-election from Varanasi (Benaras) which is in Eastern UP.
Secondly, the Congress in UP needs a dynamic and attractive personality to be its face in the area after the party was left out of the opposition alliance in UP.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati and the Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Akhilesh Yadav have formed an alliance leaving out the Congress though all three are part of an all-India “Grand Alliance.”
As per the Congress’s organizational structure, Eastern UP has 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. These include Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s home turf Gorakhpur. Over a half dozen Union Ministers have been elected from seats in Eastern UP.
(The featured image at the top shows Priyanka Gandhi with grandmother and former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi)
