It not just in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the new All India Congress Committee general secretary, will get a bigger role in strengthening the party at the national level in the days to come, said senior party leader B. Janardhana Poojary here on Thursday.
Mr. Poojary told reporters that the formal entry of Ms. Vadra into the party gives the cadre the much-needed strength to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AICC president Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Ms. Vadra, form a formidable combination and Mr. Modi will have sleepless nights, he said. When asked about a family taking a precedence in the Congress, Mr. Poojary said no party was detached from family relationship. “It’s well-accepted now in politics,” he said, and pointed to Bharatiya Janata Party State president B.S. Yeddyurappa and his two sons in the BJP.
On the charges of the corruption faced by Robert Vadra on his wife, Ms. Vadra, Mr. Poojary said those allegations would not have any effect as they were yet not proved and were under investigation. The Gandhi family members enjoy great support of people, he claimed.
Expressing his displeasure over the state of affairs of the Congress in Karnataka, Mr. Poojary blamed Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah for the rancour seen among the party legislators. “I still stand by the statement that Mr. Siddaramaiah is here to doom the party (Congress) in Karnataka,” he said, and commended Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda for taking the initiative to sort out differences and save the coalition government.
To seek ticket
Mr. Poojary said he would stake claim for the party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election from Dakshina Kannada. “I will visit New Delhi and make a claim. I leave it to the party to decide,” he said.
