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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will continue to feature prominently in all Congress campaigns in Uttar Pradesh but she is a national leader and not confined to the state alone, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajai Rai said after it chose her birthday to roll out a 100-day political campaign to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The state Congress chief was responding to speculation that the launch of the campaign on Priyanka Gandhi’s birthday signalled her return to a central role in UP politics ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Rai told PTI that both Uttar Pradesh and Priyanka Gandhi, currently a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala, are important in the party’s scheme of things.
“Priyanka Gandhi is a national leader, not confined to UP alone. But at the same time, she will continue to feature prominently in all party campaigns in UP,” he said.
Priyanka Gandhi was appointed Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh in 2019 and led several high-profile campaigns, including the ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’ initiative and the decision to allocate 40 per cent of tickets to women in the 2022 Assembly elections.
However, the party’s electoral performance continued to decline, with Congress winning just two seats in the UP Assembly polls.
Following that setback, Priyanka Gandhi largely stayed away from active politics in the state. The party, however, showed a revival in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh when it contested in alliance with the Samajwadi Party and won six seats, fuelling speculation about her possible return to a prominent organisational role in the state.
The Congress’s decision to announce its 100-day Uttar Pradesh action plan on Priyanka Gandhi’s birthday added to the buzz. Rai, however, said a popular leader like her cannot be restricted to one state, and declined to confirm whether she would address the nearly 30 rallies planned across UP under the programme.
