Will Priyanka Gandhi become another Indira Gandhi?

With Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making her electoral debut in Lok Sabha, for the first time in decades, all three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, and Priyanka – are now in Parliament. She will now be sitting in Lok Sabha along with her brother Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the House. Their mother, Sonia Gandhi, is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan. The question now is whether her entry will boost the image of the party and give a new direction to Congress which is the need of the day.

Priyanka took an oath holding up a copy of the Constitution and began her journey as an elected representative of the people five years after she joined politics. The 52-year-old, clad in a Kasavu saree displayed the grace and body language of her grandmother, the former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. It now remains to be seen whether she would be able to follow Indira Gandhi in contributing her intelligence and talent to the Parliament. Indira Gandhi, who very rarely lost her cool in the Parliament, was proactive, had a great quality of a real leader and the patience to hear the voice of the opposition and the talent to turn the tables on her opponents.

Indira Gandhi had a very good sense of humour and courage to face criticism and defend the party and government. Though when she entered politics, her own partymen thought she was a “Gudiya,” (a doll) she proved that she was the real iron lady with grace, beauty and great intelligence. She was ruthless with her opponents whether it be in party or otherwise. She was an avid reader of books and used to come to Parliament with the required data. She was a good orator and was admired even by her adversaries like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani.

As Priyanka reminds people about her grandmother, people will be looking at her with great expectations. Will she prove to be different from the senior Congress leaders of the party who are treading a wrong path which is making the grand old party lose its importance is what remains to be seen. If Parliament is allowed to function and if serious discussions and debates take place, Priyanka would certainly get several opportunities to speak but the big question is if Congress will allow Parliament to function. If the present strategy and mood is any indication, the winter session will be a washout.

It is strange as to why the Congress party feels that shouting is more important than discussing people’s issues. If they have evidence to put the government on mat, they should discuss and show the mirror to the government and expose all their omissions and commissions. Stalling Parliament for a day on some very important day is part of a healthy democratic system but if it becomes a habit, it turns nauseating for the voters and that is one reason why people have been fast losing faith in the poll narrative of the Congress party.

Against this backdrop, it now remains to be seen if Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into electoral politics can bring some change and make the party more relevant. India certainly needs a highly responsible and strong opposition. But the Congress party has so far lost 90 elections. It is a serious issue and time for immediate course correction.

If the party does not allow Priyanka to have her way and if she becomes to be one among the leaders, then the country does not get any benefit from having the entire Gandhi family in Parliament.