The charm and charisma of Priyanka Gandhi, who hit the poll campaign trail after two years, in both Amethi and Rai Bareilly, have captivated the State of Uttar Pradesh. In Lucknow, from working women to housewives, hardened mediapersons to senior bureaucrats, everybody is marvelling about her “zamini (grassroots) appeal, that her brother lacks”.

Seated in front of a senior bureaucrat in Bapu Bhavan in Lucknow, one who is not a Congress supporter by a mile, I marvelled at this otherwise cynical IAS officer gushing about how “Priyanka is a natural; she has it in her genes. It is unbelievable how effortlessly she can mix with the cadres and voters, something only Indira Gandhi could do, and Rahul Gandhi can't get right in a hundred years.”

 

 

VIDEOSOURCE TV9