Before Priyanka Gandhi Vadra finally joined active politics, adoring Congress folk used to call her the party's "Brahmaastra", that is, the 'ultimate weapon'. Considering the buildup, many may say that the ultimate weapon proved to be rather a dud. Even so, the Congress party considered politics to be 'PGV's' manifest destiny.
In the Winter Session of Parliament, PGV did not disappoint her admirers in the party with her impassioned speech on the Vande Mataram controversy. Unlike her sibling, the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who often ends up courting controversy on the floor of the House with his fiery comments, she managed to score points against the Modi government all with a smiling face and a gentle but unyielding speech.
The cordiality didn't end there. PGV went ahead making friends and influencing people with a chat over tea and snacks with Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Transport. Reportedly, six projects in Kerala featured in the discussion. Gandhi also attended the Speaker's tea - the first person from the Gandhi family to do so after the 2024 election results - and wasn't hesitant to share details about it outside Parliament.
Rahul's Striking Absence
"Sources" says that even senior government ministers were impressed by her 'Vande Mataram' intervention - at a time when Rahul Gandhi, ironically, seemed to have decided that a trip to Germany to meet the Indian diaspora was more important than missing a week of the Winter Session of Parliament. Many also credit PGV for ensuring that Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, two Congress leaders who have long been left out in the cold in the 'Rahul' scheme of things, were allowed to speak in the House. A senior Congress leader considered close to PGV rightly points out: "when the cat is away, the mice will play".
PGV's improved public persona - even if orchestrated and intentional - has aroused frenzied debate in the Congress party, which has long been devoid of anything positive to talk about and dampened after a string of election defeats from Maharashtra and Haryana to Delhi and Bihar.
So, what gives, and what is the big takeaway from the ‘public display of affection' for PGV? I spoke to six senior Congress leaders before writing this column, and there is across-the-board unanimity that the Congress needs to give PGV a bigger public role, perhaps on par with Rahul Gandhi. They say she is far more accessible than her brother and much more pleasant to deal with, with an ability to say ‘no' with grace. On the other hand, say senior leaders, Rahul Gandhi is seen as unapproachable and comfortable only with his own coterie of leaders, who keep giving him "unworkable advice”; "without hearing you out”, says a leader, “he [Rahul] will deliver his decision", cutting you off mid-sentence and leaving the room. Priyanka, in contrast to all that, is perceived and even respected for being a “listener”.
Let Her Take The Lead
The thing, however, is that PGV has always chosen to downplay her role and, at least publicly, defers to her older brother. Another Congress leader insists that though the two siblings share a very warm personal equation, it is high time the party utilised her qualities to complement Rahul's leadership. Can't be more diplomatic than that, said another leader when I asked him.
However, irrespective of whether this sharp spotlight on PGV is organic or manufactured, public opinion about giving PGV a larger campaign role is undeniable and only growing, reflected in viral and much-liked social media reels of her Parliament speech.
Sources also state that a bigger role for her is a clear possibility, though they scoff at rumours that Sachin Pilot, another young leader, may be roped in to re-energise the All India Congress Committee. Pilot has made it very clear that his focus was and remains Rajasthan. Another buzz in the Congress is about PGV replacing the general secretary in charge of organisation, KC Venugopal, who is close to Rahul Gandhi but, reportedly, not very popular among many Congress leaders. In any case, Venugopal is unlikely to leave Gandhi's side till he is declared the face for the Kerala elections due next year.
Nonetheless, expect PGV to shed her self-imposed reticence and take the lead both within and without Parliament with other opposition parties. Her meeting with Prashant Kishor after his gigantic Bihar defeat was one of the first of many such planned meetings.
As for her sibling, Rahul, he remains the chief ideologue and the man to whom much of the party and his own family defer - for now at least.
(The author is a senior journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
