Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in focus amid calls for bigger role in Congress – A look at her electoral track record

On 17 December, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu claimed that there is a rift between Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and his sister and Congress Member of Parliament (MP), Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Bittu, who was earlier with the Congress switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the 2024 Lok Sabh elections. In an interview with NDTV, Bittu claimed that Rahul left for Germany during the recent Winter Session of Parliament because he was upset with the comparison between his and Priyanka’s speeches in the House.

“The two Gandhis are fighting. I have to come to know that people have compared the speeches of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the House. This has upset Rahul Gandhi, so he has fought with the family and the party and left,” Bittu is heard telling NDTV. in the video. No Congress leader has responded to these claims so far.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra did not attend the meeting of party’s highest decision making body – the Congress Working Committee (CWC) – held earlier this month to discuss how the party will take on the government over the passage of the new rural job guarantee law VB-G RAM G.

The Growing Buzz

Apart from Priyanka Vadra’s speech during the Vande Mataram debate, her address to the House during the debate on VB-G RAM G Bill, her meeting with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari about her constituency following a light-hearted exchange in the House; and a joke she shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the customary post-Parliament session tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have added to the buzz around her.

What is the buzz? Some reports suggested Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being the only AICC general secretary without any assigned responsibility is being discussed and that she should be given a much more prominent role within the party. Many in the party are comparing her speeches in Parliament to with that of Rahul Gandhi, her brother.

The Rahul-Priyanka Equation

The Gandhi siblings have been seen backing each other. In fact, before the much-talked-about Vande Mataram debate, Rahul said, “Priyanka ka bhaashan sunna (listen to Priyanka’s speech)”. On her part, Priyanka, the elder sister, regularly defends Rahul against the BJP’s political attacks.

She responded to the questions surrounding his ongoing trip to Germany. “(Prime Minister) Modiji spends almost half his working time outside the country. Why are they raising questions on the Leader of the Opposition travelling,” she told journalists outside Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi has been an MP for over two decades now, Priyanka Gandhi was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time in the general election last year.

On 23 December, Congress MP Imran Masood defended Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s comments on minority violence in Bangladesh and said she would prove to be a strong Prime Minister if given the opportunity, much like her grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

“Is Priyanka Gandhi the Prime Minister? Make her the Prime Minister and see how she will retaliate like Indira Gandhi.” Masood added that she was the granddaughter of Indira Gandhi, whose leadership, he said, had a lasting impact on India’s adversaries.

Masood, the MP from Saharanpur, later told The Print that some news channels had twisted his statement. “I only responded to a question from reporters when they asked about Priyanka-ji’s stand on Bangladesh. They have asked me to elaborate Priyanka Gandhi’s stand in support of Bangladeshi Hindus, so I said, “Is she a PM? If she was, then she would have responded the way Indira Gandhi did.” Now it is being distorted and compared with Rahul-ji, which is unfortunate. I will clarify my stand to same news agencies again,” Masood said.

After Masood’s comment, Priyanka Gandhi’s husband, Robert Vadra said she had a “bright future” in politics and in changing “what is required”.

“I think Priyanka has learnt a lot from her grandmother (Indira Gandhi), father (Rajiv Gandhi), Sonia-ji and her brother (Rahul Gandhi) as well. When she speaks, she speaks from the heart. I think she has a bright future in politics and a bright future in changing what is required on the ground… This will happen in time, it’s inevitable,” Vadra told news agency PTI.

The Priyanka Gandhi Track Record

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is Member of Parliament (MP) from Wayanad in Kerela and is All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary.

For years before becoming an MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stayed out of formal politics, acting mainly as a campaigner and strategist for the Congress party. She, however, played key roles in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Gandhi strongholds and managed campaigns for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

Priyanka was often compared to Indira Gandhi for her public connect and oratory. She entered into active politics in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 with many calling her Congress party’s trump card before 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In January 2019, Priyanka Gandhi was appointed as General Secretary (East Uttar Pradesh). Her entry was seen as a bid to revive Congress fortunes in UP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

But the Congress party lost Lok Sabha elections. The BJP-led NDA returned to power with a landslide. In UP, Congress won only one seat — that of Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi lost to Smriti Irani from the family stronghold of Amethi in 2019.

Eventually, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra became face of opposition protests. She was detained multiple times during protests. She emerged as a prominent Congress face in women-centric politics, promising 40 per cent tickets to women in UP Assembly polls

Three years later, Priyanka Vadra was made in charge of Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2022 assembly elections. The party won just two of the 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

Priyanka Gandhi campaigned in 2024 general elections. She took an electoral jump and contested from Wayanad seat during a bypoll. The seat was vacated by her brother Rahul Gandhi who won two seats – Wayanad and Rae Bareli. The former Wayanad MP decided to retain Rae Bareli seat.