The Congress’ decision to back off on fielding Priyanka Gandhi Vadra against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi in the ongoing general elections is clearly a psychological setback to the party. Had the party not shown an inclination to pit Priyanka against Modi things would have been different. But by nurturing that feeling and then backing off it, made itself look compromised.
That Priyanka would not contest from Varanasi was announced around the time Modi landed in the famous bastion of the BJP where he later held a road show of mammoth proportions. Priyanka’s back-off added to the halo around the prime minister, making him look invincible.
As it is, Congress president and Priyanka’s brother Rahul Gandhi had caused the party enough damage by deciding to fight his own electoral battle from Wayanad in Kerala in addition to Amethi, betraying nervousness about beating his arch rival Smriti Irani who has been challenging him to a fresh battle in Amethi.
The party’s failure of talks with the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine on seat sharing has already made it an also-ran in the country’s most populous state which it once lorded over. It is believed it was Sonia Gandhi who took the final call when the SP-BSP combine showed little interest in putting up a joint fight with the Congress.
Had Priyanka plunged into the Varanasi contest, though her defeat was certain, she would have proved that she had the guts to take on Modi. Now, like Rahul who decided on Wayanad, she has shown herself as gutless and devoid of fighting spirit.
Priyanka’s withdrawal could well impact the battles in the 240 constituencies which will face polls in the next four phases including Amethi where Rahul could well be on a slippery wicket. Significantly, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had contested against then State chief minister Digvijaya Singh in the latter’s bastion
Raghogarh in the 2003 state assembly elections and though he lost, he went on to become Chief Minister three years later in November 2005. His stature indeed grew after the defeat. In Varanasi, the Congress has put up a weakling who had been mauled in the 2014 elections. All this does not augur well for the Congress in all of eastern Uttar Pradesh where stakes are high.