Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Infobox_Indian_politician


name = Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
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birth_date = Birth date and age|1972|1|12|mf=y
birth_place = Delhi, India
residence =Delhi
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predecessor =
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party =Indian National Congress
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spouse = Robert Vadra
children = 2
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (born Delhi January 12, 1972), is an Indian politician. The daughter of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi, she is a member of the Nehru-Gandhi Family; her father (Rajiv Gandhi), grandmother (Indira Gandhi), and great-grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru), were all Indian Prime Ministers. Bothher father and her grandmother were assassinated, the latter while in office.

Her mother Sonia Gandhi is currently the President of the Indian National Congress, and the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance.

She attended Modern School (New Delhi) [Amrita Kapur, [http://www.modernschool.net/history/mnk_tales.html Tales of M.N. Kapur] , History of Modern School] Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi, and holds a degree in psychology from Delhi University.

She is married to Robert Vadra, whom she may have met atfamily friend Ottavio Quattrocchi's house [cite news
title = The clue to Mr Q
author = Ashok Malik
publisher = The Pioneer
url = http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=ASHOK64%2Etxt&writer=ASHOK&validit=yes
date = March 4 2007
quote = The [Quattrocchi] children were born and grew up here and were friendsof Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. It is believed that Robert Vadra's mother knewthe Quattrocchi household fairly well, and that is where a future couplefirst met.] . They have two children, Raihan and Miraya.

Role in Politics

Like her mother, Priyanka's role in politics has been marked by ambiguity. While campaigning regularly for the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh, sheinitially claimed to have little interest in politics. At a 1999 campaign, she said in an interview to BBC: "I am very clear in my mind. Politics is not a strong pull, the people are. And I can do things for them without being in politics" [Mike Wooldridge, BBC News, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/462926.stm Priyanka: Daughter of the dynasty] , 1999-10-01] . Nonetheless, the question of her joining formal politics would be bothersome: "I have said it a thousand times, I am not interested in joining politics..." [ [http://www.rediff.com/election/1999/sep/22priya.htm Rediff On The NeT: The Rediff Election Interview/ Priyanka Vadra ] ] .

However, she continued to regularly visit her mother's and brother's constituencies of Rae Bareilly and Amethi where she dealt with the people directly, a role she appears to enjoy. She is a popular figure in the constituency, drawing large crowds everywhere; a popular slogan in Amethi in every election has been "Amethi ka danka, bitiya Priyanka" (the clarion call from Amethi is for Priyanka [to stand elections] )cite news
title = A flutter in Amethi
author = Purnima S. Tripathi
publisher = Frontline (magazine)
url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1926/stories/20030103004403100.htm
date = Volume 19 - Issue 26, December 21, 2002 - January 03, 2003
accessdate = 2007-08-15] . She is reputed as a good organizer, level headed, and is believed to be her mother's "chief advisor on political matters".

In the Indian general election, 2004, she was her mother's campaign manager and helped supervise her brother Rahul Gandhi's campaign. In a press meetingduring these elections she said that "politics is all about serving thepeople and I am already doing that. I may continue doing only that for fiveyears more." [cite news
title = Priyanka says, I am already in politics
author = Sanjay K Jha
publisher = The Pioneer (daily), Sultanpur
url = http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=VOTE_2004&file_name=vote365.txt&counter_

year = 2004
accessdate = 2008-08-15
quote = She has dedicated herself tomanaging the election of her mother in Rae Bareli, doing everything fromhandling small details of the campaign to addressing public meetings herself.] . This led to speculations that she may bear some responsibilities for the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, 2007

In the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, 2007, while Rahul Gandhi managed the statewide campaign, she focused on the ten seats in the Amethi Rae Bareilly region, spending two weeks there trying to quell considerable infighting within the party workers over seat allocations [cite news
title = Priyanka campaigns in Amethi
author = Atiq Khan
publisher = The Hindu
url = http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/14/stories/2007041410270300.htm
date = 2007-04-14] .

On the whole, the Congress party was routed in the state, managing 22 seats out of 402 [UP Assembly Election Results, [http://archive.eci.gov.in/May2007/pollupd/ac/states/S24/aS24.htm Election Commission Website] ] , its lowest tally in decades. However, in what is widely seen as a cachet for Priyanka Gandhi's quiet organizational and vote-drawing ability, the Congress which had only two area seats (out of ten) in the 2002 assembly, now managed to wrest seven, while posting significant gains in all the seats, and this despite initial dissidence within the party [cite news
title = Gandhi siblings' magic worked in Rae Bareli, Amethi
url = http://www.rxpgnews.com/politics/Gandhi-siblings-magic-worked-in-Rae-Bareli-Amethi_27514.shtml
date = May 11, 2007
accessdate = 2008-08-16] . The details of the five seats each from the Rae Bareli andAmethi regions are as follows:

Note that at Rae Bareli, the erstwhile Congress candidate, winning since 1993, was disaffected from INC, and stood and won as an Independent. In all the other constituencies in the area, Congress made significant gains.

References

ee also

*Nehru-Gandhi family