Jaipur: The Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is looking more active in the assembly election in Rajasthan than her brother Rahul Gandhi. She is going to hold a public meeting in Jhunjhunu on Wednesday which will be her third rally in the last one and a half months in the state.
Priyanka addressed public meetings at Niwai in the Tonk district on September 10 and at Sikrai in Dausa district on October 20th. Now she is coming to Aradavata in Jhunjhunu district to unveil the statue of former Union Minister and Congress stalwart Shishram Ola and to address a public meeting on Wednesday.
Priyanka to hold meeting in Jhunjhunu On Oct 25
Congress National General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is coming to hold a meeting in Jhunjhunu tomorrow i.e. on Wednesday. This is her third meeting in Rajasthan in the last one and a half months. Earlier, she had addressed public meetings in Niwai (Tonk) on 10 September and in Sikrai (Dausa) on 20 October. Now on Wednesday, she will address the gathering by unveiling the statue of former Union Minister Shishram Ola in Aradavata (Jhunjhunu).
As per the political observers, two important things are visible in Priyanka Gandhi's repeated visits to Rajasthan. Firstly, Her meetings till now have been held only in the areas of the influence of Sachin Pilot who is the political rival of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Her first visit was in Niwai which is a block of Tonk district, the constituency of Sachin Pilot, and the MLA from Niwai Prashant Bairwa is close to Pilot camp.
Priyanka's Sikrai Visit
Priyanka’s second visit was to Sikrai which falls in Dausa district. Although the MLA from Sikrai is Mamta Bhupesh who is a minister in the Gehlot government, Dausa district is known to be the hometown of the Pilot family. His father Rajesh Pilot was MP from here several times. His mother Rama Pilot and he have represented Dausa.
Now Priyanka's third meeting will take place in Ardawata of Jhunjhunu district. Ardawata is the hometown of veteran Congress leader Shishram Ola whose son Brijendra Singh Ola is the Minister of State for Transport in the Gehlot government, but he is known to be close to Sachin Pilot. Ola went to Manesar with Pilot in July 2020.
The party sources find it quite significant considering that Sachin Pilot has not been given any important responsibility in the election. "Priyanka’s frequent visits to and too in the areas of influence of Sachin Pilot can be taken as a move to woo his supporters and give a message that Sachin Pilot is important for the party," said a senior party leader on anonymity.
Priyanka’s visits are also being taken as a sign of her increasing role in the electoral politics of the party. She has led the party campaigns in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka and both states have yielded good results for the party.
Priyanka Gandhi was not very active in Rajasthan before the elections. Her visits in Rajasthan so far were the personal visits to Ranthambore.
Priyanka Gandhi's first visit to state
Her first address in Rajasthan was in Jaipur during the party’s rally against inflation in January 2021. Her first solo public meeting in the state was on September 10th in Niwai,
She has received good public response in both the meetings held so far. Party leaders want to cash in on her popularity and demands for her visits are coming from across the state. Cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachriawas said that Priyanka is a popular leader. People come to listen to her and it is good for the party that she is coming to Rajasthan frequently.
