NEW DELHI: She has done more than 100 programmes in 12 days. She keeps reminding the voters about her family’s ties with the seats.
In around 12 days, amidst scorching heat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has conducted more than 100 rallies and public engagements in addition to door-to-door campaigns and roadshows in Rae Bareli and Amethi, in a bid to win both seats for Congress. Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Rae Bareli and family loyalist K.L. Sharma is contesting from Amethi against Union Minister and sitting MP, Smriti Irani. The distance between Rae Bareli and Amethi is approximately 70 km.
Priyanka has not come to Delhi or gone anywhere else for campaigning in these 12 days. Her entire focus is on Rae Bareli and Amethi. Efforts are being made to reach every Assembly constituency in these two Lok Sabha seats. She is reaching the spot at the slightest incident. She is making her presence felt in every village and town. She is interacting with the public alone, reminding them of the old relationships. She emphasized what the family has done for the country and the region, how much sacrifice they have made; these were her main agendas. She targeted the Prime Minister in her speeches. She cornered the government on unemployment, inflation, and corruption.
She doesn’t miss mentioning her grandmother, Indira Gandhi. She recounts how Indira, a great personality, remained “your Member of Parliament”. Priyanka is telling the voters: India Gandhi would come to ask for votes, but she asked for votes based on her work; she was very religious, she worshipped daily, she visited every temple, respected religion, but she didn’t ask for votes in the name of religion, so people have to be careful because votes are being asked for in the name of religion. She also speaks of her father and mother.
As she would say, “We will empower the panchayats, sarpanches, and kotedars. We will strive to increase the earnings of those who earn the least, so that no one can exert pressure on them. We want your decisions to be made in the village itself. We want the sarpanches to have autonomy. These were the dreams that Indira ji and Rajiv ji had for you.” She also alleges how Narendra Modi intimidates and suppresses, files fake cases, but Rahul has not backed down. Priyanka is using every method to connect with the voters. She is being both emotional and aggressive. Bhupesh Baghel, former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, who is handling the responsibility of Rae Bareli, has even called Rahul the Prime Ministerial face. Ashok Gehlot, former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, who is handling the responsibility of Amethi, asked for votes for the party in Rajasthani dialect, going door to door.
Congress knows that there are different challenges on both seats. In Rae Bareli, where increasing the victory margin is a big challenge, winning in Amethi is not easy. That’s why Priyanka has exerted her influence in both seats in her own way. In Rae Bareli, Rahul’s competition is with BJP’s D.P. Singh, who lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2019. In Amethi, it’s not easy for K.L. Sharma to defeat Smriti Irani. Sonia Gandhi too has done her bit by appealing to the voters. The Gandhi family made an appearance together with Akhilesh Yadav. If Congress wins both seats, then Priyanka can once again become active in Uttar Pradesh.