Two pictures of Rahul Gandhi stood out with just a few hours left to go for the counting of votes in five states. In one, he was seen having a huge glass of ice cream while on a visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, and in the second he was playing badminton. While the party tried to get its act together in Punjab, Goa, and Uttarakhand, many in the Congress felt that with reports coming in from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Manipur of an impending defeat, these images were an open invitation to memes and barbs from his opponents.
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But what will Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra be doing when the counting of votes is in progress on Thursday? According to sources, both will be sitting together and watching closely the electoral results unfold. While Priyanka previously said in private and now publicly that irrespective of the outcome in UP, she will continue to be around, a massive loss for the party in the state, possibly with even fewer seats than last time would be seen as a huge setback for her image and charisma.
If the experiment carried out by the Gandhi siblings in Punjab fails as well, it will show once again that the two have a long way to go politically and perhaps are not a match for the acumen of their mother, Sonia Gandhi.
But amid all this, speculation broke out that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was likely to join the Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh. It was perhaps not a coincidence that she recently had a meeting with the chief minister of the state. But Bhupesh Baghel has been given an important role, even as he carried a bag made out of cow dung with the state’s budget documents inside on Wednesday. The Congress CM clearly had his eyes on the 2023 elections in the state. But the task is cut out for Baghel as in case of a hung assembly in Uttarakhand, he has to ensure that the Congress has the power to poach MLAs from the BJP and keep the flag flying.
The buzz about Priyanka joining the Rajya Sabha was hurriedly scotched by the Congress because it completely contradicted her stand that she was not scared of a fight. Her “main ladki hun, lad sakti hun (I am a girl, I can fight)” slogan for the UP elections would have been defeated, many argued, if she would take the safe route of the Rajya Sabha.
Another question being asked is what is Sonia Gandhi doing in the midst of all this? Sources say that she is more worried about the future of her children within the Congress than that of the party itself. Sonia, who is an astute politician, understands that if the Congress fails in these elections, knives will be out in the party against both Rahul and Priyanka. Disgruntled leaders like Manish Tewari and Kapil Sibal are expected to then openly attack the Congress leadership. Of course, many in the party have dismissed them by saying that they do not matter, but it is also possible that Sibal and Tewari actually echo the views of a large section of Congress leaders.
It is unlikely that there would be an open rebellion against the Gandhis because the group of supporters would always want to shield them and give them another chance, but a defeat in these elections is clearly going to be damaging. As a senior Congress leader who has been actively involved in Punjab told News18.com, “These election results are critical for the party because they would have important national ramifications, but more than that it will have an impact on the clout of the Gandhis.” It will very likely become difficult for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to actually bring about leadership changes in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. No one is ruling out rebellion from many of the old hands.
Sources say Priyanka is likely to be in touch with all the party candidates, especially the women from UP. She is also likely to address the media or at least tweet once the results come out. It is expected to be business as usual, which means the Congress party is likely to go into a state of limbo and there will be yet another committee set up to submit a report. And, sources say, this report too perhaps will be gathering dust like many previous ones and nothing will change until the next election.
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