On Monday, the Indian National Congress vehemently denied fresh reports that claimed Priyanka Vadra will campaign for the party in the 2014 elections. Earlier, TV channels claimed that the Congress would pit Priyanka's charisma against Modi's crowd-pulling power. Priyanka, the reports said, will not limit herself to Uttar Pradesh but will campaign across the country.
While at least one senior leader welcomed the move, party media in-charge Ajay Maken hurriedly denied the report. "We condemn news channels that have claimed Priyanka Gandhi will be campaigning across the country. It is a political conspiracy to divert attention from the Madhya Pradesh temple stampede," Maken said.
Union Minister Kapil Sibal welcomed the move while reacting to the reports of Priyanka being roped in by the Congress for 2014 election campaign. "It's a good thing. We need more people to tell the country the good that UPA has done, which the media isn't doing," Sibal said, attacking the media.
The reports triggered new interest in the Congress vs BJP battle, which has been earlier projected as an electoral battle between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Rahul has not been declared the official Congress candidate for the post of Prime Minister, unlike Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
The Congress has time and again written off Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a threat to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and now the mention of Priyanka Gandhi shows the party's recognition of the potential threat from the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
On October 10, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said that it would be a dangerous mistake to ignore Narendra Modi and that the UPA had failed offer an alternative to the people. "A galvanised cadre can be a make or break factor in an election," Abdullah had said.
Earlier on October 9, Rahul Gandhi had put the expectations of his partymen on fire once again when during a public meeting in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, he asserted that "a government of the youth" will come to power in 2014 which would work for the poor and "change" the country. His remarks gave rise to the clamour building up inside his party to declare the young leader as the party's PM candidate.
Following this, Congress spokesperson PC Chacko said, "Congressmen all over the country wish Rahul would take up leadership responsibility at the Centre. We hope that he would honour this wish soon, that he would take up the reins of the administration after the 2014 elections."
In a TV interview, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also said, "I would like to see him (Rahul Gandhi) and I know a lot of young people would like to see him take a much bigger role."
The speculation over Priyanka Gandhi's entry into active politics undermines her brother Rahul Gandhi's position in the party, more so since he has been struggling to make any real mark in the electoral politics so far. On the contrary, because of her resemblance to her grandmother, former Prime Minister the late Indira Gandhi, Priyanka has been hugely popular among the party workers who have long demanded her entry into the politics. Many feel she can definitely improve party's sagging prospects in the run-up to the 2014 General Elections.
Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rahul-priyanka-congress-trying-options-to-galvanise-cadre-2014-elections/1/314566.html
After being in denial mode for months about the charisma of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi having any real impact in the upcoming elections in five states as well as the 2014 General Election, the Indian National Congress, it seems, has learnt its lessons and is trying multiple options to galvanise the party cadre.
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