Rahul’s leave hardly bothers Amethi, Priyanka takes care of day-to-day activities of party

Rahul’s office in Gauriganj is busy conducting routine works according to the instructions and deadlines set by Priyanka. These include sending regular messages to Rahul about any deaths and functions like weddings taking place in the constituency, along with the contact numbers of the concerned family members.

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Wedding cards of locals — addressed to Rahul — were seen piled up at his two offices in Amethi. These are being catalogued and information is being digitalised so that each detail can be viewed online by those sitting in Delhi.

However, the immediate concern of Rahul’s office is to successfully organise a consultation camp on February 28 — where around 350 people from Amethi, including office-bearers, MLAs, teachers, doctors, NGOs, advocates and traders among others will participate — to find out how to revive the party and its organisation.

“Leave? It hardly affects people here because here it’s business as usual. In case of any need, Priyankaji directly interacts with us. We do send regular messages to our MP with details about major deaths with contact numbers of the families concerned. He calls them directly,” said Amethi district Congress president Yogendra Mishra at the central office of the constituency.

While office bearers claimed that everything goes on smoothly in the absence of their MP, the people of Amethi — who have been voting for Gandhi family for generations — are not very happy.

“Kaisi Chhutti? We are not bothered about what is happening in Dilli. For the last two days, there is no electricity here. We wake up early morning to check for electricity so that we can irrigate our fields. Yesterday, we could earn only Rs 10 from our tea shop,” said 55-year- old Tulsi Ram — a marginalised farmer in Musafirkhana Tehsil of Amethi. He runs a temporary tea stall with his brother Ram Naksha.

“We love him (Rahul) but at the same time, we want him to change his style of functioning. Otherwise, it is becoming difficult to convince the younger generation to vote in the same pattern. They keep making comparisons with other top leaders and ask questions,” Tulsi Ram added.

Family of Amit Dubey (28), who runs a paan shop in Gauriganj area, has been voting for the Congress for long. “Janata warning de rahi hai, woh sun hi nahi rahe hain,” he said. Asked about Rahul going on leave leave during the Budget Session, he seemed puzzled.

“We have our own issues and just want him to listen and raise them… We are not concerned what he does outside. We understand the concern for his security and respect it, but how should we directly tell our MP what we feel? Sometimes, some of us send letters but we  are not sure if those reach him,” he added.

A leader at Rahul’s parliamentary office at Gauriganj said Priyanka manages activities at the MP’s constituency. “She holds meetings with office-bearers on every second Wednesday of the month in Delhi where she takes feedback of organisational activities and also sets targets. She also meets the people from the constituency the same day,” he added.