Will Priyanka Gandhi Be the First South Indian to Stand in the Lok Sabha Election? Benefits and Drawbacks of the Indira Route

If not for one omission that has sparked intense speculation—the kind that occurs only once every five years—Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s post-election reorganization within the Congress would have been relatively insignificant. Despite being retained as General Secretary, she will be running for office in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Reportedly, the Congress’s upper echelons do not want to be seen without a trump card that they may utilize to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the General Elections. Priyanka Gandhi was the most active throughout her campaign, and given the results in Telangana and Karnataka, the top brass probably views her as the ultimate weapon.

Top Congress sources, however, hinted that the race in Varanasi would not be a straight Modi vs. Priyanka match, as stated by Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the TMC and a member of the INDIA bloc. In fact, insiders indicated that the party may reject recommendations made by allies and other parties.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is in a difficult situation. Amethi, its former stronghold, and Rae Bareli are no longer certain victories. Neither of them can provide Priyanka Gandhi with the stable foundation she needs for an election triumph. Avinash Pande has taken over as the new General Secretary of UP after Priyanka Gandhi was relieved of her duties in the most recent reorganization. Priyanka is no longer in control of any state, even if she is a member of the manifesto committee; instead, she may concentrate on the Lok Sabha elections.

Priyanka Gandhi’s chances of victory may rest in the south. The political comeback and early victories of Indira Gandhi (Medak in undivided Andhra Pradesh and Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka) and Sonia Gandhi (Bellary in Karnataka) have really occurred in southern India. The party’s Telangana section believes that Priyanka ought to run for the state’s Lok Sabha seat since doing so will benefit the party in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections as well.

Rahul Gandhi is an MP from Wayanad in Kerala, which is also in the south, which is the sole disadvantage of the proposal. If both of the party’s founding family’s successors join Parliament from the south, what does it mean for the party? Will it give the idea that the Congress is now a southern organization, while the BJP is a national party that is expanding its support in the south as well?

Priyanka Gandhi and the Congress will not have an easy time making this choice.