When the Congress Working Committee (CWC) convened in Delhi last weekend to discuss how the party will take on the government over the passage of the new rural job guarantee law VB-G RAM G, one leader who was conspicuous by her absence was Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.As the Congress’s highest decision-making body gathered to discuss how the party could push back against the government’s move to replace MGNREGA, the crown jewel of the UPA government’s achievements, it was told that Priyanka, Wayanad MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, had drawn up the plans for an agitational programme. The CWC finally gave the go-ahead to the nationwide “MGNREGA Bachao” protest that the party will launch on January 5 to demand the repeal of the VB-G RAM G Act that has replaced the rights-based rural job guarantee law conceptualised by the National Advisory Council (NAC) chaired by Sonia Gandhi. For the Congress, the MGNREGA was not only the centrepiece of its accomplishments, it was also one of the key promises in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls that brought it back to power after eight years in the political wilderness, established Sonia’s stature as a leader, and continued to be a source of goodwill among the rural populace even after it lost power.That it was Priyanka who prepared the action plan — a CWC member who spoke to The Indian Express described her as the architect of the “MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan” — signals she is increasingly taking a leading role in party affairs. In addition to this, the Congress leader’s speech in Parliament during the Vande Mataram debate, which received a lot of attention; her address to the House when the VB-G RAM G Bill was introduced; her meeting with Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari about her constituency following a light-hearted exchange in the House; and a joke she shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the customary post-Parliament session tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have only added to the buzz around her.Read | At Speaker’s tea, PM Modi, Priyanka Gandhi share a lighter moment: What the two chatted aboutIn the Vande Mataram speech, the Congress leader alleged that the debate was the Narendra Modi government’s attempt to frame its agenda ahead of the Assembly elections in West Bengal. It appeared to have hit a nerve in the government, with PM Modi taking exception to the criticism, according to sources at an NDA parliamentary party meeting where the issue came up. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, right, with Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi, left, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. (PTI Photo)The growing sense that Priyanka, the only AICC general secretary without any assigned responsibility, should be given a much more prominent role has been propelled to a large degree by her oratory on the floor of the House. Her spirited Parliament speech, aggressive but with a smile on her face and laced with humour, was noticed by many for its light touch. While comparing her speech with that of her brother and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on electoral reforms, many in the party noted her body language, quick-on-the-feet thinking and repartees, and pointed attacks and not acerbic speech delivery. These were a refreshing change compared to the LoP’s public-speaking style, noted one Congress functionary. Another, however, said comparing the two would be like comparing apples and oranges.Read | ‘If Priyanka Gandhi were PM, she would have answered (Bangladesh) … My remark had nothing to do with Rahul’: Congress MP Imran MasoodRahul himself praised her speech at a meeting of Lok Sabha MPs two days later, telling them that it was not perhaps right to praise his sister, but the feedback he had received was that her intervention had been impactful. Priyanka, in turn, reciprocated by saying the same about Rahul’s speech.“You cannot compare or contrast Priyanka’s speech with Rahul’s. They are in the same team. They complement each other perfectly well. But it is a fact that Priyanka is much more political and sharper. And she speaks in Hindi and to the point, which makes an impact,” said a Congress MP.Priyanka’s political journeyStory continues below this adPriyanka, always seen as a much better orator than her brother, was supposed to be the party’s trump card when she entered active politics in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 after years of being the silent backroom power behind Sonia and Rahul.At the time, it was seen as a game-changer, but the Congress was swept aside in the elections held in a surcharged atmosphere in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent Balakot air strike. Priyanka was then the party’s eastern Uttar Pradesh in-charge. The Congress won only one seat in UP — that of Sonia in Rae Bareli — with even Rahul losing from the family stronghold of Amethi.A few years later, she was placed in charge of the entire state as it headed towards the Assembly elections of 2022. However, she took a hit in the first full-fledged election in charge, as her spirited women-oriented campaign and the “Ladki hoon, Lad sakti hoon (I am a girl, and I can fight)” pitch failed to strike a chord with voters and the party won just two of the 403 seats.Priyanka then stayed away from the party’s UP affairs, even as it suffered organisationally because of a lack of structure and plan to rebuild, and after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, made the pivot down South as her brother decided to give up the Wayanad constituency after winning from both there and Rae Bareli.