Dr Navodita highlights Congress party’s Uttar Pradesh win, led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has boosted women’s empowerment and potential UP-Raebareli seat win, highlighting her trailblazing role in Congress politics, exclusively for Different Truths.
The recent performance of the Congress party in state elections of Maharashtra and Jharkhand was not very impressive, yet a single win from the Wayanad by-election to the parliamentary seat proved to be a big win for the women in the Congress parivaar.
As Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took oath as a Member of Parliament late last month, it was anybody’s guess what the Gandhi family was going through. While Congress president Rahul Gandhi may have given this seat to his sister, let us face it- Behen Priyanka’s presence in Uttar Pradesh catapulted Congress’ numbers in the general election of 2024, which possibly made Rahul win the UP-Raebareli seat. Just before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Priyanka had been appointed as state head of UP and her presence in the roadshows and campaigns helped improve the constantly dropping image of the party among its loyal voters.
Is it alright to add that Priyanka’s win was a win for the women in the Congress- quite so because while she belongs to the Gandhi family, she is well adept at making decisions for the welfare of girl children, women victims and women electorate where the ‘feminine’ energy rules the roost. It is yet to be proven whether women or men are better administrators, lawmakers or action-takers, the 21st century is an era, where both men and women work as a team, where the male side of strict discipline may combine with ‘feminine’ receptivity and passivity to accomplish great tasks as a team. Then, the sister-brother duo is the new face of the Congress and this is one reason why the ‘Damaad’, Robert Vadra, should just not be allowed to enter the fray.
Although speculations are rife that Robert Vadra will soon be entering politics, why that may be a political spoiler for Priyanka Gandhi because she is still finding her feet before she firmly plants herself in the tough male bastion of ‘UP politics’. Her candidature from Wayanad parliamentary constituency may be seen by some as sidelining her from the mainstream politics of Uttar Pradesh for the moment, yet her presence in UP is a big changemaker. Her mere presence brings up issues of women gathering dust and lights up the path of all the girls and women who are coming out of their homes to vote. The slogan- ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’ (I am a girl, yet I can fight), speaks volumes about how Congress chose to portray the women of their party- as empowered beings shining the light for other girls.
As the ‘Beti of Congress’, Priyanka is a trailblazer as there were rumours for a long time among local Congress party workers about High Command Sonia Gandhi having ‘Putramoh’ or ‘excessive love for son Rahul’. As circumstances and situations would have it new light, women are here to stay- not just as a vote bank but also as a ‘knight-in-shining-armour’!
Picture design by Anumita Roy
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