A sense of déjà vu prevailed on all those who have watched Congress politics for the last few decades when the party decided to nominate its general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat which her brother and former party president Rahul Gandhi, who won the seat along with the family borough Rae Bareli, will vacate after winning both.
Ms Vadra has been a presence in the Congress Party ever since her brother won the Lok Sabha election from Amethi in 2004. She took to active politics upon her nomination as AICC general secretary in 2019. The present nomination only shows that the Congress has grown confident now to field her in a constituency which still is a safe bet, given its past record and the current political realities. And she, too, may have felt the need for a larger and meaningful role to play in parliamentary politics. Her win will create a spectacle where all the eligible members of the Congress’ first family will be in Parliament now.
Was Ms Vadra the only possible choice for the seat? The party which had disastrous runs in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections nearly touched the three-digit mark this time under the leadership of a president who does not come from the Gandhi family. It only goes to show that the party has no dearth of talent outside of it. Whether to employ it or not is a call it has to take.
Ms Vadra’s candidature will refuel the BJP tirade against dynastic politics. It may, however, be remembered that the BJP’s campaign against dynastic politics attracted not much traction as the Opposition, led by alliance partners whose leaders were steeped in dynastic traditions, performed remarkably better this time around.
Ms Vadra’s main opponent will be fielded by the CPI, a partner in the INDIA alliance. It will be interesting to watch how the partners explain the contradiction as the by-election is sure to evoke national interest.
