Telangana is the second home to Priyanka Gandhi and she is likely to pay more visits to the State that will go to polls in six months. This is the message sent to the elated Congress leaders who were keen to have more meetings with her in the coming months.
After her successful meeting at Saroornagar on Tuesday, which is her first one in Telangana that once sent her grandmother and late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the Parliament when she was going through hard times, all the Congress leaders have only one request to her – to visit Telangana often as she carries the right vibes.
Senior Congress leaders confirmed that Priyanka herself was elated with the way the meeting went on and was keen to visit the state where her grandmother was welcomed with open arms when she was facing her toughest political time. Indira Gandhi won from Medak Lok Sabha seat in 1980 when she was being hounded by her political opponents in northern India.
Ms. Priyanka was said to have mentioned to a few Telangana Congress leaders that Telangana was like a second home to her and she can never forget the love showered on her family by people of this State. Not only her grandmother but Ms. Priyanka also shared that her mother Sonia Gandhi shares a special relationship with people as she was responsible for delivering Telangana against all odds.
A senior Congress leader said her resemblance to her grandmother Indira Gandhi would also have an impact in the rural areas where Indira Gandhi continues to have sway over a couple of generations that grew up seeing her and enjoying the social benefits extended during her time. “It was Indira Gandhi who gave Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to the Lambada community who are backward classes in most states,” a senior leader revealed.
The success of Ms. Priyanka’s meeting can also be gauged from the unexpected attack on her by BRS Ministers and MLAs on the very next day of the meeting to negate any positive development, claimed Mahesh Kumar Goud, TPCC working president and also former MP Ponnam Prabhakar. IT Minister and BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, who generally refrains from attacking the Gandhi family directly too chose to criticise Ms. Priyanka.
A few Telangana leaders went a bit ahead and are now requesting Ms. Priyanka Gandhi to contest from Telangana, particularly the Medak constituency that was represented by her grandmother. Though the demand is still in a nascent stage senior leaders want to push the case if the Congress comes back to power in Karnataka. “Congress is gaining ground and BJP is not growing as expected. There is resentment against the BRS government and Priyanka’s entry will certainly create the buzz,” Venkat Balmoor, State NSUI president argued.
