Priyanka Gandhi: New Queen of Indian Politics

Some say she is the most charismatic Gandhi today in India’s political firmament. But the riddle that is Priyanka Gandhi is yet to be solved. She has helped her mother Sonia with election campaigning but has never publicly shown any ambition to carve out a political career for herself.
“I am here only to help my mother win a seat in the Indian Parliament,” she said. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Behind that portrait of ordinary life and the charming smile is a human being, much of whose life was spent in circumstances far from ordinary or charming.
Hers has been a life shadowed by bodyguards. Her grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated when she was barely 12; her father, former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, was slain when she was not even 20; and her mother, the diva of the ruling Congress Party, declined the prime minister’s job couple of years back, sending a nation of one billion, as well as all the news gatherers across the world, into a tizzy.
At present, brother Rahul is the one into active politics while Priyanka Gandhi herself ostensibly prefers to be in the background. But the buzz about her political future refuses to die down.
This is Priyanka Gandhi, whom the “secular” Congress once projected as its main hope for the future. Admittedly charismatic and youthful, she attracts millions of votes from young heart-broken bachelors from all over India. Without doubt the prettiest politician in India today, political analysts predict a bright future for her.
“If it is difficult for mere mortals to understand why Priyanka would want to follow in her father’s bloody wake, one need only attend a political rally to understand why the Congress party is excited to have her on board,” pointed out Dr. Suvrokamal Dutta, renowned political expert.
By contrast, Sonia and Priyanka are different. While the mother is mature and looks serious, the daughter (handsome, if not beautiful) evokes a hipper image, maybe not vee-jay material, but eons away from the geriatric types who normally hog the podium.
Plenty of Indians see in Priyanka (or want to see) glimpses of her formidable grandmother Indira, the Prime Minister of India from 1967 to 1977, and from 1980 to 1984. Priyanka even walks like Indira, they say; she is bubblier, but she also possesses that special assertiveness. It is worth mentioning that a quarter of Indian voters are under 25 -- and a young and bubbly member of the Gandhi dynasty could help convince young people to mark their ballots.
Priyanka, however, does not really believe in the concept of dynasty. “I don’t believe in this dynasty thing. I believe I have been brought up in a particular way. I have watched people work for the country, work for others, and to that extent I have imbibed certain things from them,” pointed out Priyanka Gandhi when asked about the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
In a nation where public faith in politicians’ promises is low, Priyanka Gandhi has clearly restored an element of charisma to electioneering. It is being described as the “Priyanka factor” and Congress believes it has made a significant difference in the final stages of the campaign at Rae Bareli.
But what is not yet known is whether this experience will tempt her into a bigger political role of her own. “I am very clear in my mind. Politics is not a strong pull, the people are. And I can do things for them without being in politics,” she says.
India is not convinced, and the pressures that eventually propelled Sonia Gandhi to the Congress leadership are likely to be felt by Priyanka too.
The fact is that everyone in India knows her face. Not yet a full-fledged politician -- but a potent political figure feared by the opposition makes a clear indication that she has some role to play in the future politics of Congress. Like members of the Kennedy clan in the United States, she doesn’t need polls, recognition surveys, orchestrated media exposure, or speechwriters. She is a Gandhi.
Interestingly both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi believe that what is going on in the country today, for example the division of India along caste lines and along religious lines, is absolutely wrong. And both are willing to fight against it cohesively.
Keeping this aside, Priyanka also has an opinion on Indo-Pak relationship. “War is not a solution of our problems. We have to create love and affection. We hope that people-to-people contact will lead to that,” she said.
Theoretically speaking, the emergence of both Rahul and Priyanka is bound to help the Congress in blunting the issue of their mother’s foreign origins, which has been ruthlessly and successfully exploited by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The best part about Priyanka Gandhi is that she is not hungry for power. “My mother is doing her job to the best of her capacity. It (power) is not a priority for any of us,” said Priyanka, who is often touted by the media as a potential Indian prime minister due to her political charisma.
Coming to Rae Bareli election, Priyanka once again shows the different side of her personality to the world. There is a thin line between confidence and over-confidence but Priyanka knows this difference real well. “I will say what everybody in this constituency knows -- whoever may come, Soniaji will win. I welcome them,” Priyanka, who also acted as her mother’s election agent, tells reporters.
“There is no force, which can defeat Sonia Gandhi. I invite you (the media) to name a person who can defeat her”, she says confidently. What’s more, she is impressed by the hard work of Rahul. “He had done a good job in organizing party workers by travelling through the constituency for so many days. Rahul has worked very hard...the credit goes to him,” pointed out Priyanka.
On the voting day, Priyanka did it again. One can easily see the type of energy she can generate in a temperature as high as 40 degree Celsius. She is going from booth to booth checking out arrangements and keeping track of the percentage of votes polled.
The magic that the Gandhi dynasty still holds in Rae Bareli was on display when people clamoured for a glimpse of her at everyplace she graced.
All through Sonia Gandhi’s campaign, Priyanka was well protected from the media by the Special Protection Group (SPG) men. But Priyanka believes in talking, so she talked to the media and the people once in a while.
Whatever opposition and critics say with regard to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanki Gandhi, one thing is for sure they have yet to find a ‘real’ weakness in their repertoire. That’s why, for a time being there is no stopping Priyanka Mania.