Mumbai, Jan 25: Hailing Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into the Congress’s star campaigner list, the Nationalist Communist Party (NCP) on Wednesday said the former was instrumental into forming alliance with the Samajwadi Party. “It was expected that Priyanka would be the star campaigner because when alliance was doubtful and there were some hurdles, I think she plunged into it and she was instrumental as we were told in bringing about with her mother the two parties together. Therefore, she was bound to be there in the list of campaigner. But as a matter of fact, I think she would be at the top of the list of star campaigner… we won’t be surprised about it,” NCP leader Majeed Memon said.
Having played a key role, along with senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, in sealing the alliance with the Samajwadi Party, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was expected to play a prominent role in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Sources, however, suggest that her role in the elections will remain limited as she would be campaigning only in the parliamentary constituencies of her mother Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli) and brother Rahul Gandhi (Amethi) much like the previous years.
After the Congress joined hands with the Samajwadi Party, the party-workers were keen that Priyanka takes the centre stage this time but it now seems their wait will continue. The Congress, which reportedly submitted Priyanka’s name in the list that was given to the Election Commission at the start of the campaign, hasn’t made any changes to it. Sources said the Congress had made two campaign strategies – one based on alliance and the other in case of solo battle in the high-voltage polls.
Initially, when former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit was declared the chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka was supposed to campaign in the entire state. A team had also been formed to ideate for her campaign. The party leadership, however, realised that the only way to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was to cobble an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Hence, the second strategy was adopted, according to which the Congress is not in favour of over-exposing Priyanka before the penultimate 2019 Lok Sabha battle.
Priyanka’s role for now will be limited to strategising the election campaigns for the poll-bound states, selecting the candidates and keeping tab of Rahul Gandhi’s election campaign. This political development comes after many senior leaders had expressed their desire that Priyanka should join mainsteam politics. A ‘Priyanka lao Congress Bachao’ campaign was also launched. Priyanka has so far not been very active in Indian politics and kept her responsibilities confined within the promotions and campaign.
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