This story is from January 24, 2017

As Priyanka Gandhi is hailed for alliance with SP, husband Robert Vadra calls Rahul Gandhi 'youth icon'

Basking in the praise the Congress party's Priyanka Gandhi has been getting for swinging an alliance with the SP for the upcoming UP polls, her husband Robert Vadra took to Facebook today to hail the partnership and toast "two young & dynamic leaders- Rahul Gandhi & Akhilesh Yadav."
As Priyanka Gandhi is hailed for alliance with SP, husband Robert Vadra calls Rahul Gandhi 'youth icon'
Robert Vadra
Key Highlights
  • The Congress party yesterday publicly acknowledged Priyanka Gandhi's role in forging an alliance with the SP ahead of the UP state polls
  • Vadra took to Facebook today to hail the alliance and called Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav 'youth icons'
NEW DELHI: Basking in the praise the Congress party's Priyanka Gandhi has been getting for swinging an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls, her husband Robert Vadra took to Facebook today to hail the partnership and toast "two young & dynamic leaders- Rahul Gandhi & Akhilesh Yadav." He didn't mention his wife Priyanka in the post, though.
The timing of Vadra's comments is interesting, as Congress party leaders are scrambling to assure everyone that Priyanka's success and its acknowledgment doesn't mean her brother Rahul is being sidelined.

Vadra's comments also come at a time when speculation is rife that Priyanka will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from her mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's constituency in UP, Rae Bareli.
Vadra, in his post today, called Rahul and SP chief Akhilesh "youth icons" with "brilliant ideas."
He wrote:

After the Akhilesh faction of the rift-ridden SP was allowed the use of the party's electoral symbol, the cycle, last week, the Congress immediately said it would ally with the SP in the upcoming polls to ensure that a "sectarian" BJP is shut out of Uttar Pradesh. But the alliance almost didn't happen, as the Congress wanted to contest from more seats than the SP was willing to give it.
That's when Sonia's daughter Priyanka stepped in and managed to achieve a compromise with SP chief and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. The Congress was quick to acknowledge her role. Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel even tweeted about Priyanka's position terming discussions with her as the "highest level" of talks.


Party sources said the decision to accord official status to Priyanka's work for the party was something that had been thought through. The reason behind Priyanka's growing footprint, sources told TOI, is Sonia's decision to slowly withdraw from politics.
"It is a fact that Rahul's dependence on his sister has increased a lot. She is looking after many functions discharged by Sonia as also the back-end operations of Rahul's office," an insider told TOI.
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