'Priyanka Gandhi will draw crowds but not win votes for Congress'

Priyanka took charge as AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East on Wednesday, a fortnight after her formal induction into the Congress party

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will draw crowds but not win votes for the Congress as for today's electorate back parties which deliver and are not swayed by "charisma," said the Telangana Rashtra Samiti Thursday. "Those days have gone when people with super-charisma come and sway the voters because voters today are educated, especially the youth who are making an impact," a spokesperson for the ruling party in Telangana, Abid Rasool Khan, said.

"They (voters) are towards parties which promise and deliver," Khan told PTI. The "classic case" in this context is the TRS which swept the recent Assembly and Panchayat polls in the state because of good governance and delivery on promises, and there was no "charisma", he claimed. Priyanka took charge as AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East on Wednesday, a fortnight after her formal induction into the Congress party.

"Her (Priyanka's) entry or entry in comparison with any film star or celebrity is only to draw the crowd, but they will not transform into votes because voters have decided they wanted parties which will deliver and keep up promises", Khan said. On the assessment of some analysts that Priyanka's "charisma" is similar to that of her grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said, "there is a difference". During Indira Gandhi's days, Khan said, charisma was important because most of the voters were illiterate, and it's not the case now. Thanks to social and other media exposure, people are demanding their rights now, not just charisma.

"So, I don't think personally she will make any impact until and unless the Congress party looks at itself...where it has gone wrong, set right all the problems under her leadership and builds up the party base...," he said. "Over a period of five years if she works hard, definitely there will be an impact, but not coming just before the elections", Khan said. As for the perception in some quarters that Priyanka may "overshadow" her brother and Congress President Rahul Gandhi, he said, "Anybody who does not perform will be overshadowed."

"Rahul Gandhi has definitely not performed as a national leader, and he has not been assertive, he is not seen
to take decisions", he said, adding, the Congress would not have won Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh last year if there was a "third alternative."

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