NEW DELHI: With Sonia and Rahul Gandhi at the top, Congress has “no vacancy” for a leadership role, party leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said amid speculation that Priyanka Gandhi could assume a bigger responsibility in the organization.
“Congress has a president and a vice-president, who is not only functioning but also active. Off course, Priyanka Gandhi is campaigning in two Lok Sabha constituencies (Amethi and Rae Bareli),” Tharoor, who is also a party spokesperson, told reporters, adding that she herself had restricted her role to the two seats.
Asked if this meant Priyanka was not required, Tharoor said “there is no vacancy at the moment. We have a President and a Vice President and they are doing a job”.
The Congress leader, at the same time, said that there has been a “very positive impact” by the campaigning of Priyanka in the two parliamentary constituencies.
Earlier this week, Priyanka had said that her brother Rahul had expressed to her many times that he thinks, she should contest”.
She had also said that no one in her family would ever stop her from contesting an election.
“My brother, mother and husband would whole-heartedly support me if I wanted to contest. My decision not to contest is entirely my own. I will only change it when I feel from within I should,” she had said. Priyanka’s comments had came in response to a report that she was very keen to contest from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat against Modi because she felt he was “bad for the country” and needed to be “stopped”.
But, the report added, the “party leadership finally decided against fielding her”.
Two years younger than 43-year-old Rahul, Priyanka is seen as a more natural leader in Congress than her brother.
There have been demands from partymen from time to time that Priyanka should assume a larger role and campaign all over the country. (PTI)