Congress has failed miserably in its attempt of revival. The grand old party fought the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls on its own with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading the campaign from the front. But it seems that Priyanka Gandhi’s lead role did not benefit Congress at all. Or, it can be said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the new Rahul Gandhi who is out to sink the Congress.
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Congress and its battle in Uttar Pradesh
Congress tried very hard to forge an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, but surely nothing worked out after the previous alliance’s defeat of 2017. Finally, as no options were left, Congress landed in the fight on its own. Congress under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi fielded candidates on almost all the 403 seats barring some like Karhal. Congress in desperation did keep the option of post-poll alliance open by not fielding candidates against the Yadav family.
Congress was not taken seriously in the initial phase, as the party had no cadre and traditional vote bank in the state. And to sustain in a state like Uttar Pradesh both aforementioned things are a necessity for any political party.
Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘ladki hun lad sakti hun’ faces a massive failure
Congress, a party without cadre and voter base decided to contest UP elections on its own and Priyanka Gandhi launched her campaign ‘Ladki hun lad sakti hun’. This move was basically targeted at the female section of the society and had an intention to carve out a ‘women vote bank’.
However, the success of a campaign is calculated from the votes party achieves based on the campaign. And Congress failed miserably on the election front. Congress’ seat tally has degraded from 7 to 2 and its vote share has shrunk from 6.25% to 2.35%.
The results clearly suggest that Priyanka Gandhi’s media buzz has done no good to Congress. There was a lot at stake for Congress in UP, as it was not just a chance of the Congress party’s revival but also Priyanka Gandhi’s launch as a full-time politician.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: Another Rahul Gandhi in making
After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Congress’ future was at stake. But all thanks to the sympathy wave, the Congress sat on the throne once again. But along with that began the downhill journey of the Gandhi family, as it failed to produce any giant leader.
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Gandhis, who were once the torch bearers in Indian politics, are struggling to find their own place. There have been innumerable unsuccessful attempts to launch Rahul Gandhi and now his own sister Priyanka Gandhi is consuming the space. Though her launch has been labelled as unsuccessful as her brother after March 10, Congress’ projection of Priyanka Gandhi as its face had some impacts.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is not a seasoned politician, rather a dynast. She landed in UP and created a media buzz. She made sure to stay in newspaper headlines. The analysts started to believe that there may exist a ‘Priyanka factor’ that may help the sinking Congress party. But it seems just like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi was also out to sink the boat of Congress.
Rahul Gandhi, after several unsuccessful attempts, is still not an acclaimed politician. Just like her brother, it seems Priyanka Gandhi should also stop testing her taste buds in politics.