Makkah police arrest Yemeni and Egyptian suspects of fake Hajj campaign    400-800 year old giant coral colony discovered within AMAALA waters in the Red Sea    HR Ministry launches 'Ajeer Al-Hajj' service for seasonal work during Hajj 2025    Kafalah grants 1,900 loan guarantees worth over SR4.8 billion to SMEs during 1Q 2025    Council of Senior Scholars reaffirms performing Hajj without a permit is a sinful act    Syria thanks Saudi Arabia and Qatar for settling World Bank dues    King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Mahmoud Abbas appoints Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO vice president in key succession move    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



India's Priyanka Gandhi to finally make electoral debut
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 18 - 06 - 2024

Priyanka Gandhi, sister of India's main opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is set to contest her first election, ending decades of anticipation by her supporters.
Ms Gandhi is a descendant of the Nehru-Gandhi family, India's most famous political dynasty, and her electoral debut will be closely watched.
The 52-year-old will contest the Wayanad seat in the southern Indian state of Kerala after her brother relinquishes it.
A win for Ms Gandhi would mean the presence of all three Gandhi family members in the Indian parliament.
Her mother Sonia Gandhi, former president of the Congress party, is an MP in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament.
Her brother Gandhi won the recent parliamentary elections from both Wayanad and Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli seats.
Gandhi, who has represented Wayanad as an MP since 2019, is giving it up as he can only retain one parliamentary seat under Indian law. On Monday, he thanked the people of Wayanad for their "love, affection and support".
A date for the by-election is yet to be announced but Ms Gandhi says she is "not nervous at all".
"I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel his [Rahul Gandhi's] absence," she said on Monday. "I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative."
The by-election will mark the end of a decades-long wait by Congress supporters for Ms Gandhi's involvement in electoral politics.
Journalist Javed Ansari, who has reported on the Congress party for decades, told BBC Hindi that he was not surprised by the announcement.
"I think it was a question of when [she would contest] and not if," he said.
For years, Ms Gandhi was considered the more popular of the Gandhi siblings with many blaming the "lacklustre leadership" of her brother for a string of Congress defeats between 2014 and 2019.
From an early age, people have pointed to Ms Gandhi's resemblance to her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Ms Gandhi was actively involved in the election campaigns of her mother from the late 1990s. She also campaigned for her brother when he actively joined politics in 2004.
Senior leaders have praised her political acumen and her flair for engaging with people.
Ms Gandhi's official entry into politics came when she was put in charge of the Congress campaign in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh state, ahead of the 2019 general election.
The Congress went on to perform poorly in that election and the state assembly polls in 2022, but Ms Gandhi was not blamed. Senior party leaders said the performance was not a reflection of her work and in line with their expectations.
Appointed Congress' general secretary in 2019, Ms Gandhi has since overseen the party's campaigns in several state elections.
Party leaders say she's been crucial in stabilizing the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh state this year amid rebellion by some of its own lawmakers.
She was also at the forefront of the Congress's campaign in Uttar Pradesh state - where opposition parties performed surprisingly well - and especially in the Gandhi family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli.
"She held the fort for Rahul and that is how he could campaign across the country," Ansari said.
Political commentator Neerja Chowdhury said it would be interesting to see the siblings in parliament together if Ms Gandhi wins.
"Personally, I think Priyanka is savvier of the two. She thinks on her feet and her language is clearer than his," she said, adding that she will be "watched very closely".
Congress leaders and workers in Kerala have expressed happiness at the possibility of having Ms Gandhi as an MP from Wayanad.
ND Ayyappan, president of the party committee in the district, said: "It indicates that the family will continue its ties with the people of Wayanad."
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized dynastic politics in response to news of Ms Gandhi's electoral debut.
"Congress is not a party but a family business," BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla said.
But the announcement of her candidacy received praise from Annie Raja, a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) who had contested against Gandhi in Wayanad in the recent election.
Ms Raja, who lost the election by a margin of over 360,000 votes, did not confirm whether she would run against Ms Gandhi in the by-election.
But she said, "We need more and more women in parliament." — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.