News analysis Priyanka Gandhi enters electoral politics, stoking Congress' revival hopes

Seen as the front runner in by-election, she could join brother and mother in Parliament

- Nirmala Ganapathy India Bureau Chief

NEW DELHI - Congress party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into electoral politics is strengthening hopes within the grand old party of a political rejuvenation.

For many Congress party loyalists, a long-cherished dream has also come true after Mrs Vadra, 52, filed her nomination papers on Oct 23 to stand in a by-election for the Kerala state's Wayanad ward in India's Lok Sabha, or Lower House of Parliament.

While she had formally taken on responsibilities within the party in 2019 when she became a general secretary in Congress, this is the first time that she is standing for an election, a longstanding demand within the party.

The prospect of another Nehru-Gandhi scion entering active electoral politics is coming at an opportune time.

Congress is seeking to convert a good showing in the general election earlier in 2024, where it almost doubled its seat tally from 52 to 99, into a full-fledged political revival to rival the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"I am sure she is going to be one of the major pillars along with (her brother) Rahul in due course. She should craft herself as (a) people's leader," associate professor of political science at Delhi University Tanvir Aeija, who is also vice-chairman of the Centre for Multilevel Federalism think-tank, told The Straits Times.

"They have got a tag of being elite. She has to break that mould... and prove she is a pan-Indian leader," he said.

"Whether one likes or dislikes (it), the Nehru-Gandhi family is the fulcrum of Congress. If you remove that fulcrum, Congress collapses because there are so many factions (within the party).

The storied Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty has given India three prime ministers - Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi.