Sister act

Considered by many as the most promising scion in the Gandhi-Nehru family, Priyanka Gandhi, during the election campaign tried every means to cement the huge cracks in the organisation of the party in her mother8217;s and brother8217;s parliamentary pockets, Rae Bareli and Amethi.

Considered by many as the most promising scion in the Gandhi-Nehru family, Priyanka Gandhi, during the election campaign tried every means to cement the huge cracks in the organisation of the party in her mother8217;s and brother8217;s parliamentary pockets, Rae Bareli and Amethi.

But the question that is intriguing everyone is why did she request people to call her Priyanka Vadra. What made her clarify in almost all her public meeting and wayside speeches that she has no personal political ambition? She kept parroting the line, 8220;I am not here in my personal capacity but as a mere representative of Rahulji.8221;

Her words reminded one of the rumour that was doing the rounds in 2003 about there being a lack of consensus between the Gandhis on 8220;who should be the first in the younger generation to step into politics8221;. So Priyanka8217;s plea to be addressed as 8216;Vadra8217;, cannot be allowed to pass without debate. There are many within the Congress, in fact, who foresee serious political repercussions in such a stand.

Although the reasons behind her effort to shed her 8220;Gandhian identity8221; would, if ever, be known only when she divulged them at some point, the bigger question is whether 8216;Priyanka Vadra8217; has the same resonance as 8216;Priyanka Gandhi8217;. After all, it is not for nothing that the election speeches of her mother, Sonia Gandhi, in this Uttar Pradesh campaign were packed with reminders to the people of what Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru had done for the nation.

In Uttar Pradesh8217;s politics, every leader has a political lodestar: Mulayam Singh Yadav constantly invokes the name of Ram Manohar Lohia. Mayawati constantly recalls B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. If Priyanka has political ambitions, it would be only sensible on her part to hang on to the Gandhi-Nehru identity.

So what made her break with this tradition? For Congress watchers and scribes like yours truly covering the electoral battle ground in Uttar Pradesh, this was one of the more intriguing questions that had surfaced in the just-concluded Uttar Pradesh election campaign.