Ladki accepts haar in Uttar Pradesh ladai

New Delhi: People of Uttar Pradesh have dashed off the dreams of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who wanted to emerge as a potential leader to steer the party to victory in the State.

Her strategy to make the Congress a game changer by announcing 40 percent reservation for women in tickets along with intense campaign and attractive slogans did not help revive the party in the State. On the other hand, it hit rock bottom which now puts a question mark on the leadership of Priyanka as well. The party was virtually decimated as it ended up with just two seats as compared to seven in 2017.

What is worse is that it faced drubbing in its one-time bastions -- Rae Bareli and Amethi -- where the party has not won even a single seat. When Priyanka announced 40 per cent reservation for women in party tickets, many political pundits thought it would be a game changer for the Congress.

However, the party turned this into a non-serious issue when it gave away tickets to the victims of atrocities. The move earned accolades for the party, albeit temporarily, but none of the 'victims' could enlist public support and votes.

The battle for votes is strikingly different from a battle for emotions and this election has proved it.

Priyanka, when she opted for victims as candidates, was probably trying to replicate the success story of Phoolan Devi in the nineties. Phoolan, who was a victim of gang-rape, was also charged with the massacre of 21 Thakurs in Behmai and she got elected as an MP. But a similar experiment by the Congress did not work in their favour.

Its vote share has been on a steady decline. It was at about 6.25 per cent in the 2017 Assembly polls and has slipped to 2.4 per cent in this election. The state of affairs in the party can be assessed for the fact that State party president Ajay Kumar Lallu has faced a humiliating defeat in Tamkuhiraj.