Priyanka’s gambit

THE dynamics within the Congress party has completely changed with the advent of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the national political scene. Congress leaders are informing journos that the decision to bring Priyanka into mainstream politics was in the making for the last two years but the party was of the opinion, let Rahul Gandhi completely take over the command and if need be, Priyanka can enter the mainstream. This theory is for public consumption and for those who are unaware about the intricate world of the Congress party. Insiders have another story to tell. In January the Modi government intensified the investigation against Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra in the money laundering case. The Congress leadership got the hint that the ED and CBI might arrest Robert Vadra. Insiders revealed that this infuriated Priyanka and she insisted to her mother Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to announce her as General Secretary of the Congress immediately. It’s learnt Sonia was hesitant. Priyanka persisted for two days and finally on January 23, 2019 it was declared with a rider that Priyanka will be the new General Secretary in-charge of Eastern UP. After the appointment, Priyanka took a conscious decision herself to drop husband Robert Vadra at Enforcement Directorate headquarters on February 6, 2019, sending signals to ED officials that now Vadra is a political entity and not a persona non grata.