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Journalism of Courage
In its campaign against Rahul Gandhi, the BJP has opened a new front: his relationship with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
In a series of social media posts, the party has suggested that all is not well between the two siblings, and that moreover, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has backed Rahul to keep Priyanka out of the power sweepstakes. The videos shared by the BJP purportedly show Priyanka refusing to hold Rahul’s hand at a rally, while another suggests she did not even tie Rakhi on him.
The equation between the two Gandhi siblings has long been a matter of speculation. In the initial years of Rahul’s tentative entry into politics, Priyanka was seen as a politician more in the mould of her canny grandmother Indira Gandhi, as well as more charismatic and a bigger crowd-puller than her brother.
However, in recent years, the debate within the Congress has settled in favour of Rahul, who after stepping down as Congress president, has risen in moral authority and is now seen as the party’s un-anointed leader.
The Congress has condemned the BJP videos as “below the belt”, while Priyanka has laughed off the BJP’s claims.
The BJP’s attack focusing on the Gandhi sibling ties at this time is being seen as the party recalibrating its agenda after the formation of the INDIA coalition, so as to undermine Rahul’s emergence as the Opposition’s main face. The party realises that simply barbs against the former Congress president, like “Pappu” and “Shehzada”, might not cut ice any more.
Party sources admitted that one fear is that Rahul’s rise might consolidate the minority votes behind the Congress, with some regional parties which Muslims look up to already part of the INDIA coalition. “Such polarisation, where minorities back one party, could prove a challenge for the BJP in a number of states,” a party leader said, while attributing the Congress’s “newly earned goodwill among the minorities” as one reason drawing regional Opposition parties to the INDIA bloc.
The BJP social media posts also drew a parallel between the alleged Gandhi sibling rift and tensions within other political families in the INDIA bloc – such as Lalu Prasad’s sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Singh, and the NCP’s Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit.
The voice-over in one of the videos released by the BJP says: “Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka’s relationship is not like that of an ordinary brother and sister. Priyanka is more clever than Rahul, but the party is dancing to Rahul’s tune, and Sonia Gandhi is also fully aligned with him! This is why Priyanka has been absent from the Ghamandiya (implying INDIA) alliance meetings! Watch the video to see how the sister is being used solely for election campaigns.”
On the same day, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya alleged that Rahul did not have “the sacred thread that Hindu sisters tie to their brothers, on his wrist”. The Congress shot back with a video showing a thread on Rahul’s wrist.
Then, three days later, the BJP unveiled a poster taking off from The Crown Netflix series, with Sonia as the Queen in the middle, flanked by Rahul and Priyanka, and the caption: “Can Priyanka Vadra checkmate Rahul and snatch the crown?… It’s a battle for the crown. Stay tuned to see who delivers the final checkmate move.”
A BJP leader admitted: “There is a growing sense in the party that Rahul’s diatribe against Modi is getting traction among the fence-sitters and the minorities, especially the Muslims. His visit to Manipur has earned him goodwill in the Northeast states and he already has traction in the South, which he managed to improve with his Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
However he added that Rahul still is a long way away from matching the popularity and acceptance of Modi. “In any part of the country, Modiji’s popularity and the respect for him are much higher. We do not see Rahul as a serious threat. Still, the BJP wants to take no chances.”
Another senior leader said the fresh line of attack might be too personal, but adds that there is no denying the chinks in the Gandhi siblings’ armour. “There are some differences of opinion between them. So, it is natural that rival parties will exploit the same… Such rifts are part of dynasty politics.”
Rahul himself has been relentless in his attacks against the BJP, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has accused the Modi government of preferential treatment to business baron Gautam Adani and his group, targeted the government over rising prices, as well as accused it of autocratic tendencies and attacking federalism.
However, at least two senior leaders denied there was any fresh urgency in the BJP campaign. “Rahul Gandhi has not emerged as a serious challenge to Modi. Rather, keeping Rahul as the focal point of the attack on the Opposition suits the BJP. The party finds a Modi vs Rahul situation more comfortable than a collective Opposition or an Opposition united on a theme or an issue. So, it’s a tactical change.”
Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate told The Indian Express that the BJP social media campaign about Rahul and Priyanka was simply a diversionary tactic. “Instead of talking about the Adani mega scam, joblessness, the fresh violence in Manipur… they are doing these things. They believe we will get distracted and start talking about other things. It doesn’t matter. It shows what your true colours are. The fact that you want to talk about siblings, the fact that you want to superimpose the picture of the Congress’s former president and the leader of our Parliamentary Party in the manner in which you have done shows the scant regard you have for women, forget about anything else.”
Shrinate added that the Congress would not be detracted from the “real issues”. “The Congress social media, the Congress media, the Congress workers and our leadership are squarely focused on issues which matter to the common man, and this is what is making them nervous.”
