#BetweenTheLines: With Priyanka not in country why Congress chose this timing to announce biggest political debut through a mere press release?

Greater Noida (24/01/2019) : On January 23, 2019 the Indian National Congress surprised one and all with the sudden announcement of inducting Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the General Secretary for party’s eastern Uttar Pradesh unit.

Not only it reinstated the party leader’s statements regarding going all out in the UP electoral battle but it also gave an all new dimension to the fight that may decide the next Prime Minister of the country.

However what raised many eyebrows was not only the style of this announcement- through a brief press release that too where Priyanka’s name was mentioned in the second paragraph, but also the timing when she is not even in the country.

It is often said and heard that the path to Delhi’s chair of power goes from corridors of Uttar Pradesh. This is the state that not only discusses politics as its favorite pass time but also lives, breathes and indulges in it right from nukkad tea stalls to any barber shop.

It would be no exaggeration to assume that Priyanka Gandhi’s official entry into mainstream politics must have been a very cleverly thought and meticulously planned move by the top echelons of Congress party. Indeed it comes as surprise to many as to the way it was announced with a mere press release instead of a full-fledged press conference that would have clearly suited the occasion.

Was Congress trying to downplay the news or was it some kind of gimmick to test the waters before the mega launch, could only be clear with party’s future course of action but nonetheless the announcement triggered as much political shock as it deserved. For more than two hours soon after the announcement, #PriyankaGandhi was the top trend on WordWide twitter, a testimony of the curiosity it aroused in Indian diaspora spread throughout the world. Moreover as many as 12 top Indian Twitter trends were related to Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into politics.

Many experts believed that a press conference would have also paved way for some uncomfortable questions about Robert Vadra as well as linking Priyanka’s entry to Rahul Gandhi’s performance, both of which were well avoided at the time.

Also party very well knew the significance of the news and was well aware that irrespective of mode or medium, the political shockwaves that this news will create, would remain unhampered.

Although, what else surprised many political commentators was the timing of the announcement. The Congress party, for some reason best known to them, announced Priyanka Gandhi’s official entry in to politics at a time when both Rahul and Priyanka were out of Delhi. As media-persons rushed to usually-quiet and undisturbed bunglow of Priyanka Gandhi it became known that newly appointed General Secretary of Eastern UP is not only out of Delhi but actually travelling abroad.

The reason behind her foreign visit at this time and why Congress didn’t attempt to hide this fact given the criticism Rahul’s similar junkets have received in past is yet far from clear. However most would agree that the move reeks more of naivety instead of being some well planned step.

Rahul on the other hand was visiting his parliamentary constituency of Amethi and for about an hour avoided any interaction with media-person after the news was made public. Probably in an attempt to not to divert any limelight away from her sister, Rahul kept on meeting with public, taking nukkad stopovers but completely avoided media for quite some time.

At last when he spoke, he also tried to downplay it with talking about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya’s new roles in the same breath.

The Gandhi scion later made it clear that Congress is going to fight the UP leg of Loksabha elections in full-war mode and was in no mood to give a pass on to any party or leader.

With Priyanka’s entry in to Eastern UP now it the UP fight has become really tripartite between BJP, Congress and SP-BSP alliance. As the poll dates come nearer this Hindi heartland is going to offer the most interesting political tales, however what remains to be seen is as to what benefits the public is going to get out of this most-intensified political battle of modern times.

Also Read- Why the tough turf of eastern UP will now be a litmus test for both BJP and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra?