Priyanka is no Indira, Congress should know that by now

One flop in the recent Indian parliamentary election was Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (PGV to Congress workers). Brother Rahul Gandhi was a bigger flop for not making even a dent in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's accumulation of power. (It is another matter that Modi's victory margin was greater than what his party's or government's internal assessments were.) But Rahul has acknowledged that he came up short, and is steadfast on not withdrawing his resignation as party president. He is not even the party leader in the new Lok Sabha. He is also not signing official correspondence at party headquarters. Rahul has learned, not painlessly, his limitations as a politician.
Priyanka was supposed to be the hard-as-nails woman, a tonic the Congress needed to fight the formidable electoral machine run by Modi and his now Home Minister, Amit Shah. One reason that didn't happen, besides Modi's immense personal popularity, is because the Congress machine was dilapidated, almost non-existent; it comprised not people hungry for power but patrons fattened on privilege. So you could argue that she didn't have much to work with. It is also possible, however, that she might have shortcomings of her own.
Priyanka is often compared to her grandmother and former PM, Indira Gandhi, who is remembered as an Iron Lady; while history will remember her for the triumph in the 1971 war and the liberation of Bangladesh, her legacy also includes the Emergency rule (44 years ago on Wednesday), and the encouraging of a cult of personality that has remained alive for decades and finds its fiercest manifestation nowadays. Priyanka herself probably never discouraged such comparisons: except for the long-sleeve blouses, she has emulated her grandmother's saris, hairstyle and curt manner of speech. Is the comparison apt? One merely need go to YouTube to find out.
I recently watched an interview on the BBC of Indira Gandhi by Jonathan Dimbleby, conducted in November 1978, a year and a half after she was toppled from power and replaced by the first non-Congress government in independent history. It was a fascinating watch. Though at the time it had already become clear how rickety the Janata Party government was and that it would soon collapse, providing Gandhi with loads of confidence, it still provides a glance into the former PM's personality.
One, Indira Gandhi was clearly no intellectual like her father, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru; in fact, she appeared to be a mediocre thinker. Dimbleby was well-prepared with his questions, and had done substantial research (quite in contrast to Indian TV anchors these days); he even knew the report, that he had on hand, of the Justice JC Shah Commission of Inquiry set up by the Janata government to look into the excesses of the Emergency. Her answers were uncertain and had more polemic than substance. When he pinned her down, she resorted to ad hominem attacks or to say that his questions were rude. (Not so, his tough questions were merely pointed.)
What she clearly had was a fight game. She was stern and easily slipped into confrontation mode. She did not back down. It is uncanny to watch her in the current era of Donald Trump, Modi, Viktor Orban, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin and others, all of whom openly denigrate ideas and logic, in favour of quick and decisive action. As the late Saddam Hussein might have said, Gandhi was the Mother of All Authoritarians.
When Rahul appointed Priyanka as the general secretary in charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, she was also tasked with preparing the party's state unit for the 2022 UP assembly election. (The party dissolved all district committees in the state on Monday.) While her brother may have switched off somewhat after the parliamentary loss, Priyanka continues the work she had been assigned, and she has recently met more than a few rank-and-file Congressmen. What comes out is also revealing.
Each meeting lasts no more than seven to ten minutes, depending on the enthusiasm the visitor can elicit in her. One could argue the exigencies of time, but then one should take into account how many Indira Gandhi met in a day. By that standard, Priyanka should meet a thousand Congress workers a day. She does not. She also hasn't yet exhibited a bandwidth for being able to do so. People who meet her say her answers are robotic; she doesn't delve deeper into any local issue; she appears disengaged. For the rank-and-file that is clutching at straws, she doesn't give cause for optimism.
It wouldn't matter so much if like her brother she recognised her own limitations and was willing to leave it to earthy, hungrier politicians in the party. However, there has been no evidence that she is in sync with Rahul's undertaking that she will not succeed him as party president. One might be forgiven for thinking that she wants to take over the party seamlessly.
After watching the BBC interview and hearing of the party interactions, Priyanka is clearly no Indira Gandhi. The Congress has little choice but to look elsewhere to survive.
Aditya Sinha is a senior journalist based in India