Robert Vadra to wife Priyanka Gandhi on her political foray: Always by your side

Robert Vadra has welcomed his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's decision to enter into active politics. "Congratulations P. Always by your side in every phase of your life. Give it your best," he posted on Facebook with a photo of her wife. The Congress has appointed Priyanka as the AICC general secretary and has made her in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency - Varanasi - is located. The development holds significance as the party’s decision comes days after the party was kept out of SP-BSP alliance in the state.

Priyanka, who is known to have had a say in formalising election strategies and candidates' list of the party in previous elections, will be taking charge of the new responsibility from the first week of February. With this, speculations are rife that she may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from her mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli.

The party has also appointed Jyotiraditya Scindia, MP from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, as the Congress General Secretary in charge of western Uttar Pradesh. Commenting on the development, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said both of them are young and strong leaders and the Congress want to change the politics of Uttar Pradesh with their help.

"I have not sent them here for two months but given a mission to take ahead the true ideology of the Congress to take the poor and deprived sections of society along. The Congress is fighting for its ideology... Priyanka and Jyotiraditya are young and strong leaders and with their help, we want to change the politics of Uttar Pradesh," Rahul said.

However, the Congress president didn't give any clear answer when asked about rumours of Priyanka contesting the Lok Sabha election. "It is up to her," Rahul Gandhi told reporters in Amethi. 

"We won't play on the backfoot, we will play on the front foot, be it Gujarat or Uttar Pradesh. My point is that we do politics for the people and development and wherever we will get an opportunity we will play on the front foot. I feel that this step will usher in a new kind of thinking and bring a positive change in Uttar Pradesh politics," he said without mincing words.