New Delhi: Congress on Thursday did not attach much
importance to demands by some senior leaders that Priyanka
Vadra should take "centre stage" in party affairs.
"It is like a calling attention," a senior party leader,
who declined to be identified, said thereby implying that the
leaders who have been making a pitch for Priyanka have been
mainly doing so to draw attention towards themselves as they
have long ceased to be politically important.
Party veteran Vasant Sathe as also former Union Minister
C K Jaffer Sharief had favoured Priyanka to take the "centre
stage" in party affairs contending that she has "greater mass
appeal" than Rahul Gandhi.
"Priyanka is there in politics. She is taking care of the
constituencies of her mother and brother. Why should she not
take the centre stage because she has greater mass appeal?",
Jaffer Sharief has wondered.
Sharief (77), who like Sathe (86) was a strong loyalist of
the late Indira Gandhi, shares his view that Priyanka is the
one who has more mass appeal than Rahul.
Sathe had said that Priyanka is not coming forward to
participate in active politics as she apparently feels her
brother will be "sidelined".
He had insisted that if Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul embark
on a vigorous mass contact drive in the months and years to
come, the party could restore the past glory of single party
rule in the next Lok Sabha polls.
Congress spokespersons have been insisting that it was
left to Priyanka to decide her future course of action.
PTI
