With Priyanka still missing, how long will Prashant Kishor stick for Congress in UP?
Noontime in October is usually pleasant in the national capital, and more so around Lutyens' Delhi except if it's a hotspot for hectic political activity.
On Monday afternoon, 15, Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, popularly known as 15 GRG/war room in Congress circles, was buzzing with activity. The office-bearers of UP met at the once important address. What transpired at the meeting was a stock taking of the UP Sandesh Yatra that is being carried out across the state as part of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's message to the masses.
Can the Priyanka factor do the trick?
The presence of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made an otherwise ordinary routine meeting of the UP Congress significant. Over two dozens office-bearers of the state, including secretaries and vice-presidents, thought that a word on Priyanka's role would be forthcoming.
This was the first meeting of its kind when Priyanka was actually present among leaders of a state unit. Although no one dared to ask openly about her role, by the end of it Priyanka's closing words were meant to be read between the lines.
Sources present at the meeting said "Priyanka explained that she has to rush and won't be able to speak at length, however after the 28th of this month, she would be accessible to leaders and they could request individual meetings with her".
This, the source said, was different from the past, because till now access to her was restricted to the top leaders of the party. Priyanka's presence and her statement is a clear message to political rivals that the Congress could be a decent stakeholder in UP and cannot be ignored.
Congress campaign at a roadblock
In the past few weeks, the party's UP campaign seems to have hit a roadblock. The oldest party was looking to revive itself in the critical Hindi-speaking state, but all of a sudden, its campaign seems to be running out of steam.
With the entry of strategist Prashant Kishor, the stage was set to reclaim some of its lost glory. The buzz was that Priyanka would be brought in as party general secretary and play her much awaited role in Uttar Pradesh, campaigning through the state. The party seems to be shifting gear and has slowed down on the Priyanka factor.
Political war over surgical strikes and Congress's shifting stand
If we were to rewind the tape a bit, it was on September 6 that Rahul Gandhi launched the Kisan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh. With a Congress leader embarking on the longest road journey in recent times, the Deoria se Dilli Kisan Yatra was tailored and designed to pep up the pro-farmer image of the Congress.
Just when the Congress thought the going was good and it had made a head start, a big announcement followed – the DGMO's media address from Jawahar Bhawan – and had wide political ramifications both across the border and at home.
To be fair, by afternoon the Congress on behalf of its president Sonia Gandhi issued a strongly worded press release lauding the Army for the surgical strikes and supporting the government. That said, political wizards will agree that the surgical strikes changed the mood of the country.
Behind closed doors, Congress leaders confess that the BJP has been able to do what it has always does best - publicity and propaganda. Despite the Congress launching a string of sharp attacks against the "chest thumping" and brow-beating by enthusiastic ministers and BJP leaders, the latter has managed to drive home its point.
Did Rahul's "khoon ki dalali" remark misfire?
The surgical strikes have changed political discourse in Uttar Pradesh. For the Congress, the rest of the undoing was by its own "yuvraj" on the culmination day of the Kisan Yatra at Jantar Mantar.
“Humare jawan hain jinho ne khoon diya hai, jinho ne surgical strike kiya, unke khoon ke peeche aap (PM) chhupe huye ho. Unki (jawans) aap (PM) dalali kar rahe ho. (Our jawans sacrificed their lives, they conducted the surgical strikes, you are hiding behind them. You are selling their blood),” said Gandhi.
A senior Congress leader present on the stage that day said: "Rahul was performing live, he had no written script. It started well till he uttered the words 'khoon ki dalali'. Another leader and I looked at each other in the eye and we knew Rahul had undone his month-long hard work."
The next few days were spent by the Congress defending Rahul's statement and the mood in the party headquarters was low.
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| All is apparently not well between strategist Prashant Kishor and the Congress leadership. (Photo credit: India Today) |
No word on Priyanka's campaign plan
The shifting political landscape has upset the party's plans in the upcoming elections. Earlier, there were indications that Priyanka would be brought into the battleground as early as October. After the completion of the Kisan Yatra, when a meeting was held in the war room at 12, Tughlak Lane, to discuss the future course of action in UP, there was no word on her.
The meeting was attended by Priyanka, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sheila Dikshit, Raj Babbar, Sanjay Sinha and Kishor, but neither Priyanka nor the others discussed her role. Sources say that with BJP creating hype over the surgical strikes and Rahul's utterance, now the situation is not conducive for Priyanka's entry. Even if she comes into the picture, it will be with a trimmed role and much later.
Rahul's coronation unlikely before next year
In all likelihood, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be getting the much obvious extension as party president due in December. An important source aware of internal decisions indicated that Rahul's coronation has been put off as of now.
"It is unlikely that Rahul would be elevated as party president," he confirmed. "With assembly elections close on the heels, coronating Rahul will mean that the responsibility of the results will rest on him - considering the current uncertainty, that is a big risk the party is unwilling to take," he added.
Congress looks for options in UP
The Congress is now reworking its strategy and leaders think that a wait-and-watch approach is more logical. An internal source reported on the condition of anonymity that all was not well between strategist Kishor and the Congress leadership.
Considering the thumping success that PG has got in the past, he is unwilling to risk his reputation in case the party decides to keep Priyanka away and not go full throttle in UP.
The Congress leadership will have to take a call soon.