Amid reports of a bigger role for Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra in politics and organisational matters, the party on Friday clarified that she has taken a conscious decision to confine her political activity to family pocket boroughs of Rae Bareli and Amethi.
“Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra has by her own calling chosen not to expand her involvement beyond these two constituencies,” Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said. Over the past decade, Ms. Gandhi-Vadra has been campaigning and managing her mother’s constituency, Rae Bareli, and Amethi which is represented by her brother Rahul Gandhi.
On senior party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi’s reported comment that Ms. Gandhi-Vadra had been interested in politics from a very young age and that her father Rajiv Gandhi had confided something to him in this regard in 1990, Mr. Surjewala’s response was: “Mr. Dwivedi is a seasoned leader and he is best positioned to explain this.” Mr. Dwivedi, however, was not available for a response.
While Mr. Surjewala came prepared with a written response in anticipation of the question, other party leaders pointed out that Ms. Gandhi-Vadra’s decision was not necessarily written in stone. Speculation has been rife on when Ms. Gandhi-Vadra will take her electoral plunge; particularly after she has started involving herself closely with candidate selection and the management of her brother’s office.
