Election strategist Prashant Kishor has suggested the move.
The Congress Party seems all set to play the ultimate gamble in Uttar Pradesh by projecting Rahul Gandhi as the chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming state Assembly elections scheduled in early 2017.
Top level party sources say that the party's election strategist Prashant Kishor has made it clear to the party "high command" that there is no way that the party can hope for revival in this politically crucial state without pitching in either Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or Rahul directly in the electoral battle here.
The party tally has remained in the 20s in recent assembly elections, which is a measly portion of the 403-strong UP Assembly. "It's either 20 or 200," Kishor is learnt to have told top Congressmen in UP during his deliberations with them over the past few days. He is of the firm view that if neither of the Gandhi family scions throw their proverbial hat in the ring, the party will continue to remain in the 20s bracket. But if it does take the decisive step, the party could form the government in UP with 200-plus seats.
Though no Congress leader is willing to confirm the strategy as it involves the Gandhi family directly, hope apparently flutters in the hearts and minds of partymen who get visibly excited at the very mention of the prospect. "It's ultimately a matter of personal choice for Priyanka ji or Rahul ji, and the decision has to be taken by the party high command. But one thing is sure, if either of them is projected as the CM candidate in UP, it would bring about a tsunami in UP politics and all parties will be completely washed out," gushes senior party leader and MP Pramod Tiwari. "No one can stop the Congress from forming a government with an absolute majority in UP if this happens," adds his daughter Aradhna Mishra, a Congress MLA. "It would also ensure a hands-down victory for the Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha election," she asserts.
According to the insiders who have attended strategy sessions with PK, as Kishor is fondly known, he has managed to convince the Gandhi family that no other leader has the charisma or stature to perform a miraculous turnaround for the party in UP. "All barriers of caste and community would be broken if Rahul ji leads the Congress army in UP's electoral battle," says a senior party leader preferring anonymity. The crucial Muslim votebank would vote Congress "head on" if Rahul takes the lead, he adds.
Party sources say the state party unit as also the AICC set-up concerning UP would soon be rejigged soon to set the strategy rolling in that direction. The proposed changes include the posts of the UP Congress president and the AICC general secretary in charge of UP, the sources say.
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