Priyanka and elder brother Rahul Gandhi, the Congress president, waved at cheering supporters who chanted their names while dancing to drums. The Nehru-Gandhi family has dominated Indian politics since independence in 1947 but Priyanka had for years resisted calls to enter the political fray. Congress, tainted by scandal, was obliterated in the 2014 polls by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, is banking on “Priyanka magic” to win votes. It especially needs a breakthrough in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP won 71 of the state’s 80 seats in 2014. The prime minister has repeatedly called on voters to shrug off “family rule” which he says has ruined India.

Source: The Express Tribune February 11, 2019 13:30 UTC