Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has over the years, acquired the skills to communicate with the masses, with a strong underlining political message. It was no different when while addressing her first rally in Bishnah Assembly segment in the Jammu district on Saturday, she recalled how five or six days prior to her assassination, her grandmother, Indira Gandhi had taken both her as well as Rahul to Kashmir. She probably had a premonition that she was not going to live too long and wanted to see the Chinar leaves falling from their branches during Autumn. Indira Gandhi also took both of them to Kheer Bhawani temple and then to her spiritual Guru, Shri Lakshmanjoo ji who had an ashram there. It was very clear that Indira Gandhi wanted her grandchildren to see the land from where their ancestors came and also experience both the beauty and aura of the surroundings there.
In fact, by speaking about her maiden visit, Priyanka, successfully established a rapport with the citizens there, with whom she shared a deep bond. The political dimensions of the speech were well thought through and if the objective was to touch a chord with the common people, she probably did. She was only 12 years old then and as mentioned in the book, “Chinar Leaves’’ by Makhan Lal Fotedar, Indira’s political adviser, the Congress icon wanted her granddaughter to join politics. According to Fotedar, when they were at the guest house in Srinagar, Indira Gandhi sent for him, and after a pause stated that she saw a great future in Priyanka. She had a striking resemblance with her and once she joins public life, she would go far ahead of her. She asked Fotedar to ensure that Priyanka made a proper debut in politics at an appropriate time. When Fotedar protested and said that this task should be done by her, she interrupted him and stated that since she would not be there, it was his task to ensure that her wish was fulfilled.
It is obvious that Indira Gandhi knew that her days were numbered and soon after returning to Delhi, she was gunned down by her two Sikh bodyguards at her house. Fotedar told Rajiv Gandhi about Indira Gandhi’s wish regarding Priyanka and he laughed it off by stating, “Mummy aise kehti thi kya’’. After Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a human bomb at Sriperumbudur in May, 1991, Fotedar, mentioned Indira Gandhi’s desire to see Priyanka in politics to Sonia Gandhi. However, it became evident later that Sonia preferred the role for her son Rahul, and thus Priyanka was relegated to the background for some time. Fotedar was never pardoned for his disclosure and did not get anything in the party thereafter. Both Rahul and Priyanka have had a makeover since then. If Rahul has matured as a politician, Priyanka’s political speeches during the Lok Sabha polls were extraordinary.
The brother sister-duo, are carrying the burden of the party which needs to put its act together and strengthen its organization network, if it has to take on the robust machinery of the Saffron Brigade. The Nehru-Gandhis have had a inseparable connect with Kashmir and after Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister following the Congress split of 1969 and the elections of 1971, all her principal aides were Kashmiri Pandits, though some of them were left leaning. This group of advisers later ran into trouble since Sanjay Gandhi, who was chosen by the Prime Minister as her political heir, had a dim view of the leftists and thereby forced his mother to subsequently distance herself from them. However, when Sanjay died in the plane crash on June 23, 1980, Indira Gandhi sent for Fotedar who was in Kashmir.
Although Fotedar, considered DP Dhar as his political Guru, his politics like that of Arun Nehru, was rightest. The duo was the backbone of Rajiv Gandhi following Indira’s death, and also brought him close to the RSS and some right-wing leaders. Priyanka was considered by many as the appropriate political successor to both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv, but somewhere down the way, she was relegated to political wilderness. However, her speech in Jammu was very similar to the one made by Indira Gandhi in Delhi, prior to the Metropolitan and Corporation elections in February, 1983. Priyanka used her Kashmir connection to reach out to the electorate, similar to what Indira Gandhi said at that late night meeting in Chandni Chowk behind the historic Town Hall, days before the polls. She told the electorate how she had a special relationship with the walled city since her mother hailed from Bazar Sita Ram.
While cautioning people to be careful about the BJP’s communal designs, she asked them to support the Congress. Needless to say, the Congress after suffering massive defeats in Karnataka and Andhra, stopped the slide by this win in the national capital. Like Indira Gandhi, Priyanka has a natural knack of connecting with the people and easily identifies with their aspirations. Although, there are doubts over how the Congress would perform in the Assembly polls in J&K, yet Priyanka’s presence in the erstwhile state did not go unnoticed. She was able to drive home the point that attempts to portray her brother and party as anti-national were without any basis, and Indira Gandhi, the daughter of this region had laid down her life for the country. Hers was a family of martyrs.