Congress chief Rahul Gandhi appointed his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra a general secretary within the party on January 22 (Photo: India Today/Maneesh Agnihotri)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Raj Babbar held a roadshow in Lucknow today
- This is was the first time Priyanka Gandhi held a major public event after joining politics
- Priyanka Gandhi has been given charge of Uttar Pradesh East, where PM Modi's Lok Sabha seat is located
February 11. The date was marked in calendars last week when the Congress announced that Priyanka Gandhi, the newly minted general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East, would visit Lucknow. It was to be a grand unveiling of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the politician.
A roadshow was held. Priyanka Gandhi stood atop a bus, accompanied by her brother Rahul, fellow general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia (he's been given charge of UP West) and Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar.
For around five hours, Priyanka Gandhi stood and waved to the crowds as the bus made its way to the Congress's Lucknow office. There was the customary photo with a child and the Lucknow event even coincided with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making her Twitter debut.
As roadshows go, it was grand. But there was one thing missing from neta Priyanka Gandhi's grand unveiling -- a speech.
Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow made two stops -- one planned and the other, believe it or not, because of cables that were hanging dangerously close to the bus the Gandhi siblings were on.
During the other stop, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi spoke. For around five minutes, the elder Gandhi spoke about the Narendra Modi government's many alleged failings. Sister Priyanka watched.
गली गली में शोर है, चौकीदार चोर है।#ChowkidarChorHai #NayiUmeedNayaDesh
4,082 people are talking about this
The scene was repeated later in the evening -- at the end of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's roadshow, Rahul Gandhi spoke again. This time for longer. Sister Priyanka watched, once again.
In the end, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not speak publicly even once. And that may have been part of a larger Congress strategy to deliver a simple but politically important message: At the end of the day, Rahul Gandhi remains the boss.
And that messaging may have been necessitated by the way Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has managed to wow the media.
Since January 22 (the day Priyanka Gandhi Vadra officially joined politics), not a day has passed without the younger Gandhi sibling making some or the other headline.
On her roadshow, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was accompanied by her brother Rahul, fellow general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia (he has been given charge of UP West) and Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar (Photo: India Today/Maneesh Agnihotri)
For until now, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was enigma. She was rarely seen at political events, save one-off rallies held in the support of brother Rahul or mother Sonia.
There had been talk about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being involved in behind-the-scenes discussions on the Congress party's strategy matters, but this was never formally acknowledged.
She was said to be part of a high-level group that took major decisions within the Congress party. But again, the Congress never formally acknowledged this.
The Lucknow roadshow was Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's first major public event since she officially joined politics (Photo: Twitter/UP Congress)
So when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took the big poll plunge just months ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls, she was seen as the Congress's trump card. 'Neta' Priyanka was seen as a direct challenger to Narendra Modi, whose Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi falls under Gandhi Vadra's UP East.
Neta Priyanka threatened to push brother Rahul off the front page. There was already talk that Priyanka's entry into politics was the Congress tacitly admitting that Rahul Gandhi had failed to do what he was supposed to -- revive the grand old party's fortunes after its 2014 Lok Sabha polls drubbing.
That talk may be put to rest after today's rally where Rahul Gandhi, with Priyanka by his side, showed the public that he remained the party boss.
Meanwhile, we still await Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's first political speech.
EmoticonEmoticon