Priyanka Gandhi, seen here in 2017, has been appointed Congress party chief in Uttar Pradesh, considered India’s most politically important state (SANJAY KANOJIA)

New Delhi (AFP) – The great-granddaughter of India’s founding father made her long-awaited political debut Wednesday, joining her brother in the fight to restore their dynasty to its past glory ahead of looming national elections.

Priyanka Gandhi is one of the younger scions of the powerful Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which has dominated Indian politics since independence.

The 47-year-old — whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather were all prime ministers — has rarely been seen in public, except for the rare occasions where she has campaigned for the party.

But with national polls just months away, Priyanka has accepted a key post in the opposition Congress party led by her older brother Rahul.

Members are describing her elevation as “the spark that ignites” the party, where the well-liked mother of two is being pitched as a potentially re-energising force to stave off a repeat of an election wipeout five years ago.

“It is a shot in the arm… the catalyst that will galvanise the party and infuse fresh spirits in our veins,” said Congress politician and former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The party was obliterated in the 2014 polls by current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, which secured a record mandate amid widespread dissatisfaction with Congress.

Rahul, who fronted that campaign, struggled to carve out a reputation for political acumen after the landslide loss, and was further hamstrung by unflattering comparisons to the charismatic Priyanka.

But the 48-year-old said he was “very happy that my sister, who is very capable and hardworking, will now work with me”.

“Congress is not going to be on (the) back foot. It will be on the front foot,” the opposition leader told reporters.

But his political opponents have scorned the move, with one describing Priyanka as “crutches from within the family” to save Rahul from defeat.

“I want to congratulate them. For once, they have publicly acknowledged that Rahul Gandhi has failed,” said Sambit Patra, a spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

– ‘Long overdue’ – 

Priyanka’s popularity within Congress did not extend to a serious tilt for party leadership, which went to Rahul when their mother Sonia stepped back from the helm in 2017.

Sonia — the Italian-born widow of former premier Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991 — led the party for 19 years and worked tirelessly to ensure her son’s succession.

But Priyanka’s emergence into the political limelight is being seen as a moral boost by Congress stalwarts as campaigning begins in earnest.

“This was long overdue… This will be a big boost for the party,” said Kamal Nath, who leads a Congress government in Madhya Pradesh state.

Prashant Kishor, one of India’s top political strategists, described her debut as “one of the most awaited entries in Indian politics”.

Priyanka has been tasked with overseeing campaigning in the east of Uttar Pradesh state — a must-win state in India’s Hindi-speaking heartland, where the BJP currently hold a comfortable majority.

It is also home to Modi’s electorate of Varanasi — one of the holiest cities in Hinduism — and some see Priyanka’s task of tackling the prime minister head on as symbolic.

“This is a risky but bold frontal challenge and the Congress making a big statement,” veteran political commentator Barkha Dutt said on Twitter.

Priyanka is married to Robert Vadra, a businessman who has faced accusations of financial irregularities that he denies, describing them as politically motivated.

The Nehru–Gandhi family has dominated Indian politics since independence from Britain in 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru became the country’s first prime minister.

The dynasty has produced three prime ministers — two of whom were assassinated — and a member of the family has been in charge of the country for nearly 50 of the 70 years since independence.

The Gandhi surname derives from Feroze Gandhi, who married Nehru’s daughter Indira in 1942. He was unrelated to independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, but sharing his name is unlikely to have harmed the family’s political fortunes.

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