Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was asked to vacate her government accommodation in Lutyens Delhi after losing her SPG protection last year, is now believed to be shifting her base to Lucknow. As per reports, she is doing so to ‘strengthen the base’ of Congress in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2022 state elections.
In 2019 General Elections, where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was in-charge of the election campaign in state, the then Congress President and her brother Rahul Gandhi actually lost the ‘safe family seat’ of Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani. In fact, Rahul Gandhi had to contest from Kerala’s Wayanad as well to secure his position in the Parliament. Moreover, Congress’ total tally in UP came down from 2 out of 80 seats to only one that too was won by her mother Sonia Gandhi from another ‘safe’ Congress seat, Rae Bareli.
Now, Congress believes Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who reminded everyone she is Indira Gandhi’s granddaughter just few days back, will have her 1977 Indira moment where former Prime Minister, after the Emergency, snuffed life back into a dying Congress. Priyanka’s strategy to ‘revive’ Congress in Uttar Pradesh seems to be spreading misinformation and fake news which stem from her lack of comprehension skills. Amid coronavirus breakout, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also locked horns with UP CM Yogi Adityanath over migrant issue. After promising ‘buses’ for migrants who want to reach home in UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ended up arranging for ‘buses’, some of which had expired registration and some were even auto rickshaws and two-wheelers. After much embarrassment and inability to provide required documents on time, those ‘buses’ were recalled.
Priyanka had lived in the government accommodation at 35, Lodhi Estate since 1997 when she got married as she was an Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee. However, after the threat perception was downgraded and subsequent removal of SPG protection, Priyanka, despite being a private citizen continued to stay in government accommodation even though she does not hold any official government position. As per reports, certain Congress leaders had suggested that she could enter the Rajya Sabha and become an MP so that she could manage to hold on to her government accommodation.
However, it is now believed she will now move to Uttar Pradesh and will stay in Kaul House, the house owned by Priyanka’s grandmother Indira Gandhi’s maternal aunt, Sheila Kaul. Keeping up the tradition of ‘it is all about family’, Kaul was also a Congress member. However, it is not yet clear whether her husband, Robert Vadra and children will shift with her.
