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Priyanka inducts ‘rebel’ MLA’s cousin into party
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday inducted rebel MLA Aditi Singh’s cousin Manish Singh into the party fold in Rae Bareli.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday inducted rebel MLA Aditi Singh’s cousin Manish Singh into the party fold in Rae Bareli.
All the three rebels of Rae Bareli, including Aditi, however remained conspicuous by their absence from Priyanka’s visit related events at her mother Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s Lok sabha constituency for the second consecutive day.
Priyanka, who reached Rae Bareli on Tuesday to attend three-day training session cum workshop for the party’s new state team, has been camping there. Her decision to induct Manish into the Congress is being considered significant as the move may help party counter defiant Aditi’s influence in the region.
Manish is son of former Rae Bareli MP Ashok Singh and had contested 2017 assembly election as a BSP candidate.
“Nothing is happening in the BSP for the past few months. So, I decided to join the Congress under leadership of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra,” said Singh.
Besides Aditi, who represents Rae Bareli Sadar assembly seat, party MLC Dinesh Singh and his brother Harchandpur MLA Rakesh Singh have turned rebels.
While Dinesh and Rakesh joined the BJP recently, Aditi had attended special session of state assembly on October 2, defying her party’s whip.
She had also praised chief minister Yogi Adityanath there and had stayed away from Priyanka’s ‘padyatra’ in Lucknow on the same day.
She has also not responded to the show cause notice given to her for defying party’s whip.
She was not available for comments on her plans of joining the BJP.
Priyanka had visited Aditi’s house barely two months ago to mourn the death of her father Akhilesh Singh, a strongman of Rae Bareli.
Aditi’s proximity to Gandhi family was well known and she was also appointed general secretary of party’s women wing.
Asked to comment, Manish said his family had good relations with Aditi’s family but it was for her to take a call on all political issues.
“I can’t say whether she will remain in the Congress or join any other party,” he said.
Priyanka is likely to wind up her visit on Thursday after paying a visit to Amethi.
Both Amethi and Rae Bareli have been considered to be bastions of Congress till 2019 Lok Sabha polls when BJP’s Smriti Irani got elected from Amethi.
As Priyanka revamps the Congress organisation and begins the statewide tours to prepare the party to bring it back to power in 2022 assembly elections, the unfolding developments in Rae Bareli will remain a cause of concern for her.
“Besides discussing ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Pt, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Vinoba Bhave, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule, Sant Raidas and Kabir there was also discussion on prevailing economic scenario, demonetization and economic slowdown etc at the three-day training workshop,” said another party leader. A short film on Mahatma Gandhi was also shown to the new office-bearers and modalities of agitation programmes to be undertaken in coming months were also discussed, said the leader, adding. “We have fixed responsibility for all the office bearers.”
