With Brand Priyanka Gandhi badly bruised, what next for Congress?

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra -- PTI

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was once touted with awe as the grand old party’s ‘brahmastra’ or secret weapon.

As the party in-charge of the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, it was expected that her leadership and charisma would put the decaying party firmly on the path of recovery. But on March 10, when the results to the five state assembly polls came in, this myth was severely shattered, and Brand Priyanka badly bruised. Of the 399 seats it contested in UP, it won in just two seats (its lowest tally ever), and recorded a vote share of two percent.

Predictably, the Congress’ electoral performance has turned the spotlight on Vadra and her political future given that her image and credibility have hit a new low.

There was a point in recent months when Congress members believed she could be the next party President as Rahul Gandhi was not inclined to take on this responsibility. It is a different story today as Vadra has now been clubbed as a failure along with her brother Rahul Gandhi.

Unwilling to let go, Congress spokespersons and Gandhi family loyalists were, however, ready with their explanations. They pointed out that Vadra faced an uphill task in UP where the Congress has no social base, organisation or party cadre, and has been out of power since the eighties. They were also quick to point out that she will not abandon UP, and was there to stay and work for the next big electoral challenge in 2024.

There is no doubt that Vadra ran an energetic campaign in UP, addressing over 200 public rallies and participating in innumerable road shows. In a state where the Congress voter base has been chipped away by other political players, she attempted to create a new constituency by reaching out to women voters. The party decided to give 40 percent tickets to women while the Congress poll campaign, ‘Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’ did manage to create a buzz, and attract huge crowds at her rallies. But in the end, the women voter opted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while the others felt that it would be a waste to vote for the Congress since it was not in contention to form the next government.

Despite assurances from party loyalists that Vadra will continue with the task of rebuilding the party, there are lingering doubts given her lack of consistency in the past. She had made a similar promise after the 2019 Lok Sabha election but she barely visited the state till about a year before the assembly polls. There was constant talk that Vadra will base herself in Lucknow and that Sheila Kaul’s house had been especially renovated for her. However, nothing came of it. It is, therefore, not surprising that even the voters in Amethi have not responded positively to her overtures with many describing the Gandhis as ‘seasonal visitors’.

Then again Vadra has alienated a large section of state leaders and workers with her style of functioning, especially her inaccessibility. Her core team has come in for attack for creating unnecessary barriers between her and the party cadre. Then there are murmurs about her arrogance, and how she allowed leaders like Jitin Prasada, RPN Singh, and Lalitesh Tripathi to walk out of the party without any effort being made to attend to their grievances. In fact, a senior leader expressed his astonishment at Vadra’s interviews in the run-up to the election in which she admitted that she made no attempt to stop these leaders from leaving the party.

Vadra’s communication skills and easy connect with the people was never in doubt. But in the end, this proved to be a mere superficiality. The Congress general secretary bungled badly when she told the media that she was the party’s face in UP, implying that she was pitching herself for the Chief Minister’s post, only to backtrack that same evening.

But despite the simmering anger and frustration over the inability of the Gandhi siblings to deliver an electoral victory, they may yet escape unscathed. Those campaigning for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s and Rahul Gandhi’s removal from leadership roles can be expected to be silenced by the vociferous loyalists who will insist that they should not step aside.

A senior Congress leader once told a group of rebels, ‘Please remember that the Congress is a Nehru-Gandhi party’, pointing out that it is best if Congress members come to terms with this reality. But for how long, he was asked, to which his reply was simple, ‘As long as it takes.’

It is to be seen if the time has finally come to say goodbye to the Gandhi family.