The senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh compared her visit to Indira Gandhi’s Belchi visit and tweeted: “Aap ka ye kadam Indiraji ki Belchi yatra ki yaad dilatha hai. Priyankaji aap sankarsh kare ham sab aap ke saath hai.” He was referring to Indira Gandhi’s big political moment after her defeat in 1977 when she visited Belchi village in Bihar, where there was a Dalit massacre. She even rode an elephant to reach the village. Priyanka has made similar efforts by refusing to return without meeting the affected families and remained front-page news for at least two days.

Priyanka’s visit has created some cheer in the local Congress as her campaign earlier had lost sheen when she could not even get her brother Rahul Gandhi elected from the family pocket borough Amethi. The ‘Brahmastra’ as the party touted her had misfired. She was lying low until now, but Priyanka has snatched the first political opportunity with her own “Belcchi moment”. Blaming UP chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, she held that the shooting was the latest sign of deteriorating law and order in the state.

Priyanka’s visit was a part of her UP strategy. Her goal is the 2022 UP Assembly polls. Now that she has been made the General Secretary in charge of the whole state, she is addressing the important issue of how to build up the party. The Congress’ impact on past elections for decades barring 2009 has been largely marginal. Her tweets and her statements targeted against the chief minister Yogi Adityanath are towards this goal.

At another level, after futile efforts to make Rahul Gandhi withdraw his resignation, the Congress is readying itself for the post-Gandhi phase. With no takers outside the family, will the party choose Priyanka Gandhi to take the place of her brother? For this she needs the support of the old guard, but the seniors are upset at the way Priyanka reacted to the 2019 defeat in the Congress Working Committee meeting on May 25, blaming those in that room for the defeat. According to insiders, Priyanka said, “’Congress ke hathyare' are sitting in this room”.

That is why there is muted response from the old guard. Also Congress leaders have not pushed her name openly as Rahul Gandhi had said the party should find someone outside the Nehru-Gandhi family for the position. But now a lobby for Priyanka led by Congress leaders Sri Prakash Jaiswal and Bhaktha Charan Das has demanded that Priyanka should be made the next president.

While the party is dilly-dallying about Rahul’s successor, insiders say that the problem appears to be that there was no consensus within the Gandhi family. Priyanka is not averse to taking over the party though Sonia would like to persuade her son to withdraw his resignation and it is not clear what the family would decide.

If chosen, will Priyanka be able to deliver when there is large-scale erosion? This is a difficult time as the party is totally demoralised after the 2019 humiliating defeat. There is no organization, or second-rung leaders. There is no strategy. She has to spell out what Congress stands for today. She has to find a new team and also placate the old guard who are weary of her. There are elections to Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana in a few months and party is ridden with factionalism groupism and indiscipline. There are too many issues to be resolved. Moreover, though she is a crowd puller and charismatic leader what experience does she have to steer the party at a difficult time? She has not been tested on her organisational skills nor had she worked at the gross root level. She has become a full time politician only in the last six months. So she will only be wearing a crown of thorns.

Clamour for Priyanka has gathered steam in the recent days after Jaiswal and Das had started it. She may well go on to prove herself at some point in the future but so far she has shown none of Indira Gandhi’s political skills. The UP results have proved that there is no Priyanka magic but her supporters dismiss this by pointing out that she came out too late. Ultimately the party cannot live without the family and the family cannot give up its hold over the party. So they are stuck with each other. (IPA Service)