DNA Edit: Can Priyanka Gandhi’s entry revive electoral hopes?

Speculations that Priyanka Gandhi could start playing a larger role in the Congress’s operations have been rife for a very long time now. Lending a strong boost to those murmurs is the exclusive story in Monday’s DNA which cited a Congress Working Committee member saying that party president Sonia Gandhi at the end of the CWC meeting on August 8 “wondered aloud” if Priyanka should be made the working president of the party.

The three or four members who were privy to this thought were strongly receptive to the idea. If this thought is actually translated into action, the Congress will be all the better for it. It is no news that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s leadership has been directionless.

While the Congress and Priyanka Gandhi’s office have issued a wishy-washy denial to the story, there is no doubt that the duo of PM Modi and party President Amit Shah has not only given the Congress a run for its money but has also managed to bring the party to its knees. It now has but a few pockets to call its own in India; its footprint reduced to that of a small regional player as against its former glory of having its pennant unfurl across swathes of India.

Contemporary political punditry suggests that 2019 is PM Modi’s for the taking. However, if Priyanka is to make her foray into electoral politics for good, the Congress would still have a fighting chance against PM Modi’s appeal.