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Priyanka Vadra has a new address: 24 Akbar Road
- From being Rahul Gandhi’s backroom strategist, she finally appears on the forefront
- Known as an ‘aggressive’ politician, several party leaders and supporters feel she has a strong physical resemblance to her late grandmother, prime minister Indira Gandhi
In March last year, the Congress held a three-day plenary in the national capital with an agenda to set the tone for the 2019 general elections and ratify Rahul Gandhi’s appointment as Congress president.
The night before the 16 March opening, Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra reached the venue of Talkatora Stadium to oversee arrangements and did not leave till early next morning. Leaders at the venue, impressed with her attention to detail, were convinced a front-office role for her was only a matter of time.
“Her presence that night, overseeing preparations for her brother’s official coronation was in a way a peek into what was going to follow—an important role in the party; and what can be more important than Uttar Pradesh,” a senior party leader said requesting anonymity. In a way, the anecdote captures the role that Gandhi-Vadra has been playing till now—a backroom strategist for the Congress, someone who appeared on the forefront only rarely. That is now history. From rare appearances at 15 Gurudwara Rakabganj Road, the Congress war room, she now makes the official transition to 24 Akbar Road, its headquarters.
Gandhi-Vadra, 47, is the daughter of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and younger sibling of Rahul Gandhi, 49. Her husband, the businessman Robert Vadra, is the subject of scrutiny from several investigative agencies for alleged violations in land deals.
Known as an “aggressive” politician, several party leaders and supporters feel she has a strong physical resemblance to her late grandmother, prime minister Indira Gandhi. Although she refrained from joining politics, focusing instead on her family (she has a son and a daughter), Gandhi-Vadra has been a constant strategist for the party.
“There is a perception that she will add to the mood of aggression which is much needed for the party right now,” a party leader who has worked in Uttar Pradesh said.
Gandhi-Vadra has been a key strategist for Rahul Gandhi since he took charge of the party. She was credited with the alliance with the SP in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls but that move yielded no electoral gain for either party. More recently, she was part of the decision making process to select the chief ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
“She is a go-getter. If she sets her mind on something she works on it till the end. She has clarity of thought which she backs up with practical knowledge. Her people skills are good and she is very grounded,” said a person familiar with her.
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First Published:24 Jan 2019, 12:43 AM IST
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