World | India
Congress likely to back Sonia's daughter in polls
The ruling Congress party may spring a surprise by fielding Priyanka Vadra, who is the daughter of party chief Sonia Gandhi, during the next general elections.
- By Ajay Jha, Chief Correspondent
- Published: 23:42 January 13, 2009
New Delhi: The ruling Congress party may spring a surprise by fielding Priyanka Vadra, who is the daughter of party chief Sonia Gandhi, during the next general elections.
Seen as the real heir of her illustrious grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, Priyanka is under tremendous pressure from the party rank and file to contest one of the seats from Uttar Pradesh.
Priyanka has impressed all and sundry with her understanding of politics and is extremely popular with the masses whenever she appears in public.
However, all this has taken a back seat as Priyanka has prioritised helping her mother and brother Rahul Gandhi during elections.
She has shunned active politics saying she had more important duties at home to attend to - her two children.
However, many in Congress ranks feel that the real reason for this has been Sonia Gandih's desire to avoid sibling rivalry.
Sonia is widely perceived to be grooming Rahul as the next prime minister from the family, from which three prime ministers have emerged - all ruling India for nearly 38 years since it attained independence in 1947.
The move to get her to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls started in Moradabad district, where a resolution urging Priyanka to contest the Moradabad seat was passed.
Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra belongs to Moradabad.
The calls became even louder with the Uttar Pradesh state unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi writing a letter to the party's central leadership to nominate her for one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats of the state.
Further support came from party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan who said that if Priyanka contested the election, this would come to the aid of the Congress in tremendous ways.
Shrewd
Many in the party believe that propping up Priyanka's possible candidature is part of shrewd plan under which Rahul is to be handed over reigns of the government, while Priyanka plays a prominent role in the party.
Insiders believe she may become party chief while Sonia continues as the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance and becomes the patron of the Congress party.
The state unit has suggested four constituencies for Priyanka including Moradabad, Sultanpur, Allahabad and Lucknow.
If she agrees, it is widely believed that she may opt for Sultanpur, which borders the family fiefdom of Rae Bareli and Amethi - represented by Sonia and Rahul respectively.
Though the Sultanpur seat was won by the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Congress's ally, the Samajwadi Party, has sitting MPs from Allahabad and Moradabad.
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