Poll fashion: On campaign trail, Priyanka Gandhi’s style is effortless and elegant

Politicians in our country do not overstep the line when it comes to dressing for work. What they wear is actually an effort to reinforce the idea that they are no different from the women or men who vote for them. Image consultants say clothing is a powerful tool in shaping public opinion and sending out key political messages.

This election season, we followed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who has caught our attention with her signature style — crisp saris paired with long-sleeved blouses while sporting a bob cut and minimal accessories. She is almost never seen wearing shades despite the blinding sun on the campaign trail. In fact, the newly appointed Congress general secretary can be easily described with that oft-used fashion phrase: ‘effortless, yet elegant’.

A closer look shows that Priyanka’s style during campaigning is all about handwoven cotton or jute silk saris with borders, and cotton suits once in a while. The saris are mostly in monotones– brown, green, yellow, deep maroon and blue – and sometimes in checks.

At a roadshow in Wayanad, Kerala, earlier this month, when the city’s temperature was 40 degrees with the humidity level hovering around 100 per cent, the Congress leader went for a checkered emerald green sari with a maroon border. During the same tour, her another pick was a mustard yellow and red handloom sari that had a bold red border.

Sunita Budhiraja, CEO of Kindlewood Communications and entrepreneur of Six Yards and 365 Days, says Priyanka makes it a point to wear what people in front of her are seen wearing. “Most of her saris are khadi or kanchi cotton which mostly retails around Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000. This makes people think that she is among the crowd. These saris are great summer wears. They breathe. Hence, easy to handle, especially in summers, coastal areas where there is much humidity,” she adds.

Priyanka was spotted in a similar green checkered sari that she wore in Wayanad at a political event with her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra in Raebareli.

At times, she is also seen in Uppada saris that are woven in Uppada in East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and Dabu print saris – traditional hand block print done on cotton fabric in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. She also sports Kancheepuram, Nalgonda and Pochampally saris.

Priyanka, again, wore a sari similar to the one she wore in Kerala at a road show before her brother, Rahul Gandhi, filed his nomination papers for the general elections from Amethi.

The Congress leader is often said to be influenced by her grandmother Indira Gandhi for her sartorial choices. “Indira Gandhi had some of the most exclusive sari collections and she knew which sari to pick when making an apt political statement. She seems to have acquired the same taste and a sense of style from her grandmother or maybe even her old saris,” Budhiraja adds.

Priyanka’s mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, too, often wears similar saris but mostly in lighter hues.

When in the national capital, away from the heat and dust of campaigning, Priyanka is seen in western casuals like jeans and shirts and long skirts — in an indication that Delhi is her comfort zone. Interestingly, her profile photo on her Twitter handle, which she launched only after she assumed a party post, has her in a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt. The change in the profile picture — she was earlier wearing a maroon sari —  came apparently after a BJP MP commented on her appearance after she joined Twitter.