The decision to assign major responsibility to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is a right one but it has come too late to do any good for the party, feel most voters in Varanasi, where they feel the hope for any miracle from her in the Lok Sabha elections would be unfair.In this high-profile parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Congress cadres are jubilant that Priyanka has the charge of east UP after becoming the party’s general secretary. They now want the party high command to field her from the seat for Lok Sabha polls While people in the urban belt are enthused with this decision of the party, in rural belts, voters feel the move may not be of much use because it came after the grand alliance of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party had already been formed as a challenge to the BJP.The opinion comes in view of the results of the 2014 Lok Sabha election results, when Congress managed 75,614 votes and landed at third position after Modi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.Leader of the boatmen fraternity Pramod Majhi of Shivala Ghat says, “Despite the delay, Congress has taken the correct decision to help revive the party. Now, we want to see her in action like her grandmother Indira Gandhi to give a new lease of life to the party in UP.”Shyamlal Yadav of Ramnagar feels that more than anything else, Priyanka’s entry is a double blow for the BJP because she has the capability to shift votes which will not go in favour of the SP-BSP alliance.Mohd Khalid agrees. He feels that Priyanka’s entry will boost the vote share of Congress and the morale of party workers but it will not help in securing a high number of seats.“The Congress should have taken the decision earlier to give Priyanka such a responsibility. It could have helped the party prepare a strong base. Now, except causing harm to the SP-BSP alliance and benefitting BJP, this move will do nothing,” he says.Riteshwari Narain of Milkichak village also questions the timing of the step.“Had the Congress taken this decision before the formation of the SP-BSP alliance, the scene would have been different. Now, one should not expect any miracle from Priyanka as her prime task would be to re-strengthen the organizational structure of the party for which she needs years,” he says.In nearby Mudadev village, Virendra Rajbhar says, “The Congress had Priyanka campaigning in Amethi and Rae Bareli parliamentary seats in previous LS polls but at the end of campaigning, she was sent behind the curtains. Now, she will be more active but to revive the party and change its fortunes, she will need three-four years”.Leader of the weaver fraternity Mahfooz Alam says people had awaited Priyanka’s entry in active politics for a long time, especially by traditional voters of the Congress.“But, in the current scenario, she will have to work hard to bring back the non-Muslim traditional voters of the party,” he says.The younger generation, meanwhile, is warmer to Priyanka.Banarasi sari trader Faisal Kaifi from Revritalab says, “People see Indira Gandhi in Priyanka, not just because of the similarity in their look but also her quality to mobilise people. However, she will have to work hard to reach close to Indira’s personality as the latter had learnt politics from Jawaharlal Nehru.”On the other hand, Ramnagar native Sardar Kuldeep Singh cautions Congress to avoid comparing Priyanka to Indira.He says the move can backfire as Indira had imposed the Emergency and what Sikhs had faced after her assassination was impossible to forget.With their new-found interest in politics, students want to watch Priyanka perform before making any decision about her.Political science student at BHU Priya Vatsa says Priyanka will have to prove her political abilities instead of banking on her personality and image to get support of students and youth.“Excuses to stay away from politics, like taking care of family, and flaunting the Gandhi surname never impressed us. We want to see her break the existing suave image and work for women’s empowerment first inside the party and then outside,” says Ayushi, another BHU student.

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