On PM Modi's home turf, key Congress meeting begins in Gujarat, all eyes on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

In this election season, half the battle is won if a party has won the perception midgame. The Congress is making a huge statement by holding the key CWC meeting in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home turf in Gujarat. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi have reached the venue. But all eyes will be on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The star campaigner of the Congress, who have been assigned the responsibility of 41 seats, will address the party workers shortly.

Days after her foray in active politics as Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka’s address will be closely watched by all parties. After years of speculation, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra finally entered active politics last month as she was appointed the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. Jyotiraditya Scindia was appointed the general secretary for Uttar Pradesh West. Congress president Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi, 47, has always confined her role in politics to the constituencies of her brother Rahul and mother Sonia Gandhi, Amethi and Raebareli, till now. Her appointment is a key development because Uttar Pradesh, the biggest state in the Lok Sabha with 80 seats, is likely to see a triangular contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, Samajwadi-Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine and Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Also, the fact that Prime Minister Narendra and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath both hold constituencies in eastern UP, makes the job tougher for Priyanka.   

The CWC meet will brainstorm on the poll strategy. The last CWC meet in Gujarat was held 58 years ago. The "Sankalp Rally", to be held at Adalaj, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, is being perceived by Congress leaders as a major morale booster to the party in the state where it has been out of power for almost three decades.

The February 28 meeting of the CWC, the highest decision-making body of the Congress, will be followed by the rally the same day.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is also attending the rally, Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda told reporters here.

"I am glad that Rahul Gandhi accepted our proposal to hold the CWC meet here to mark the 150thbirth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," he said. The last CWC in Gujarat was held in 1961, he added.

Senior Congress leaders will attend a prayer meet at the Gandhi Ashram here before attending the CWC meeting, to be held at Sardar Patel memorial building Thursday morning.

This will be Rahul Gandhi's second Gujarat visit this month. On February 14, he had addressed a rally at Dharampur in Valsad district.

In the 1961 CWC meeting held in Bhavnagar, the party had passed a resolution to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system and to take up balanced development through the third Five-Year Plan. The resolution also talked about strengthening unity in the country, Chavda said.  

(With agency inputs)