Image source, Getty Images
- author, Meryl Sebastian
- role, BBC News, Kochi
Priyanka Gandhi, the sister of Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s main opposition Indian National Congress party, will run in her first election, ending decades of hope from her supporters.
Gandhi is a scion of India’s most famous political family, the Nehru-Gandhis, and her electoral debut will be closely watched.
The 52-year-old will run in the Wayanad constituency in the southern Indian state of Kerala after her brother gave up his seat.
Mr Gandhi’s victory would mean that all three members of the Gandhi family would be represented in the Indian Parliament.
Her mother, Sonia Gandhi, is a former leader of the Indian National Congress party and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.
Her brother Mr Gandhi won both Wayanad and Rai Bareli constituencies in Uttar Pradesh in the recent assembly elections.
Gandhi, who has been the Wayanad MP since 2019, will give up his seat as Indian law allows a person to hold only one seat. He on Monday thanked the people of Wayanad for their “love, kindness and support”.
The date for the by-elections has yet to be announced, but Gandhi said he is “not nervous at all.”
“I am very happy to represent Wayanad and would like to thank them for his [Rahul Gandhi’s] “I’m going to work hard and do my best to make everybody happy and be a good representative,” she said Monday.
The by-election marks the end of a decades-long wait by Congress supporters for Mr Gandhi’s involvement in electoral politics.
Image source, Getty Images
For many years, Gandhi was considered the more popular of the two brothers, with many blaming his brother’s “lackluster leadership” for a series of defeats for the Indian National Congress party between 2014 and 2019.
From an early age, Gandhi was noted to resemble her grandmother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Gandhi has been actively involved in his mother’s election campaigns since the late 1990s and also campaigned for his brother when he became actively involved in politics in 2004.
Senior leaders have praised her political acumen and her talent for engaging with people.
Gandhi formally entered politics when he was appointed campaign chief for the Indian National Congress party in the eastern state of Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2019 general election.
The Indian National Congress’ subsequent poor performance in that election and in state elections in 2022 was not blamed on Ms Gandhi, who party leaders said was in line with expectations rather than a reflection of her performance.
Gandhi was appointed general secretary of the Indian National Congress in 2019 and has since overseen the party’s campaigns in several state elections.
Party leaders say she played a key role in stabilising the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh this year after some of its legislators rebelled in the state.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday criticised dynastic politics following reports of Gandhi’s first election.
“The Indian National Congress is not a political party, it is a family-run business,” said Shehzad Poonawalla, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Her candidacy, however, drew praise from Communist Party of India (CPI) member Annie Raja, who contested against Gandhi in Wayanad in the recent elections.
Mr Raja, who lost the election by a margin of over 360,000 votes, did not say whether he would face Mr Gandhi in the by-election.
But, she said, “We need many more women in parliament.”
