Congress has made Priyanka Gandhi Vadra its candidate for the by-election from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. This seat became vacant after the resignation of his brother Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli and Wayanad and won. Later he resigned from Wayanad. For this reason by-elections are being held in Wayanad. Interestingly, Priyanka Gandhi is the fourth generation leader in the Nehru family. Congress supporters and workers had been demanding for him to contest elections for a long time.
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first person from the family to join electoral politics. He was also the Prime Minister of India for the longest period. His father Motilal Nehru was the Congress President but the country was not independent at that time. Indira Gandhi and her husband Firoz Gandhi come from the second generation in the Nehru family, both of whom were in electoral politics. Indira Gandhi also became the first woman Prime Minister of the country. Indira Gandhi was a member of the Rajya Sabha from August 1964 to February 1967. She was a member of the Lok Sabha in the fourth, fifth and sixth sessions. Firoz Gandhi was also a Lok Sabha MP.
From the third generation, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi also remained active in politics and won elections. Rahul Gandhi and Varun Gandhi also reached Lok Sabha from the fourth generation. However, this time BJP did not give ticket to Varun Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi is also in the fourth generation, who has been active in politics for a long time, but is now going to enter electoral politics. In the fourth generation, Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vodra and Varun Gandhi's wife Yamini Roy Chowdhury are the only two members of the Nehru family who have not yet entered electoral politics. However, Robert Vadra has also expressed his desire to enter electoral politics many times.
Congress wants to keep a strong hold on the South
According to political experts, Priyanka Gandhi has been fielded from Wayanad after a lot of thinking on the part of the party. 2024 Lok Sabha elections There were speculations that he could be fielded from Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli seat. However, Rahul Gandhi contested the elections from this seat. Congress wants to strengthen its hold in South India by fielding a member of the Gandhi family from Kerala. After 2014, when Congress was going through bad times, Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana were the only states where the party remained strong even in bad times.
'I will not let the people of Wayanad feel the absence of Rahul'
When Rahul Gandhi had announced to leave the Wayanad seat, Priyanka Gandhi had said that she will not let the people of Wayanad miss Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi had said, “I will be very happy to represent Wayanad. I will not let the people of Wayanad miss Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi has said that he will keep coming to Wayanad. I will also work hard to keep everyone happy. I will work hard.”
What has Priyanka Gandhi done in politics till now?
Even though Priyanka Gandhi is now directly getting involved in electoral politics, she has been involved in politics for a long time. In the year 2022, Priyanka Gandhi had taken the responsibility of Congress on her shoulders in UP. Then she had launched the campaign 'I am a girl, I can fight' for the assembly elections, which was highly appreciated. However, the party could not achieve much success in the elections.
It is said about Priyanka Gandhi that she keeps many Congress leaders in confidence. Be it the decision to make Charanjit Singh Channi the CM of Punjab or ignoring the rebellious attitude of Sachin Pilot, all these are said to be part of Priyanka Gandhi's strategy.
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