UP Congressmen dream up 'Project Priyanka'

LUCKNOW: If signals emanating from Pradesh Congress headquarters here can be deciphered correctly, "Project Priyanka" is about to take off in a big way in the home state of the Nehru-Gandhis.
"Don''t you think that we shall sweep the next Lok Sabha election if Priyankaji accompanies the party president during the pre-poll campaigns?", Arun Kumar Singh Munna, state Congress chief, says, adding that the mother-daughter duo had left a lasting impression on the minds of voters in both Amethi and Bellary last time.
The state Congress chief, however, makes it a point to emphasize in the same breath that Sonia Gandhi has already been accepted by the masses across the country. The party has, he says, won elections in 15 states under her leadership. "If Priyanka is also there on the scene next time, the Congress would get a tremendous boost everywhere", he adds.
Munna is not the only Congress leader who has been discussing the possibility of Priyanka''s entry into the world of politics. Subodh Kant Sahai, AICC secretary, Mohsina Kidwai, and others who matter in the UP Congress, feel the same way.
All these leaders, however, agree with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi''s view that the Priyanka card shouldn''t be brought to the fore prematurely. What they all mean is that Priyanka being their strongest bet, she should be used for winning the Lok Sabha elections -- and not just Gujarat elections.
Little wonder, then, that very many middle and lower rung leaders in the PCC are preparing to write to Priyanka urging her to join one of the frontal party organisations. "This way she can prepare herself better for things ahead and, moreover, that was how her father, uncle and grandmother had received their training," one of them said.
Significantly, Sonia Gandhi had stated at Mt Abu earlier this month that she had left it to her son and daughter to decide if they wanted to join politics. What is even more significant is that while more and more Congressmen are voicing their preference for Priyanka, nobody talks about Rahul Gandhi.