Lok Sabha elections: The political ambitions of Robert Vadra

Robert Vadra, the Gandhi family son-in-law who has for long been in political shadows, is now trying to emerge on the national political scene. Though the Congress party, where his wife, Priyanka Vadra, is now playing a key role as a campaigner, has rarely encouraged him to take up any role, he is not shy of speaking his mind about his political ambition. While he has often spoken about his political ambition in the past too, this time he is more vocal and assertive.

Candid takes of Robert Vadra
While expressing support for Priyanka, who will be contesting from the Wayanad constituency vacated by Rahul Gandhi, Vadra said that he actively encouraged her to step into the political arena and take on a more prominent role, and that he would join her in the Parliament “whenever it is the right time”.

Vadra asserted that this time when the decision was being taken, he didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. “It is essential now for her to be in active politics and parliament and not just campaign,” he said.

“She should be in the Parliament before me. I can follow whenever the time is right,” Vadra added. It may seem from his statement that he is in no hurry to become an MP. However, in months before the Lok Sabha elections, he spoke a lot about his desire to contest the polls.

How Robert Vadra rooted for himself
Early in April, Vadra showed interest in contesting the Lok Sabha polls in an interview. Interestingly, he said that he gets offers from other political parties too. “I will also say that because for so much time, I have been meeting people and there are MPs from other parties, when I meet them, they speak with me with love also and say come (to parliament) from our party and why are you taking so long and we will ensure that you win with a huge margin,” he said.

“It is not that from different places in country, there are invites, it is also coming from different parties that you come from our side and we will support you because I have friendship with several people beyond party lines, they see my hard work, understand it, and the trouble I face everyday, they understand it…They feel that if you are in Parliament then the replies you give, you will be able to give on a big platform, and the work you are doing can be done on a large scale if you are in parliament. There are several invites, there is pressure and my thinking is to work harder and stay among people and I will take part definitely at the right time,” he said.Amid suspense over who would contest the Gandhi family seats of Amethi and Raebareli, Vadra had jumped into the mix by saying that people of Amethi wanted him to step in and take charge of Amethi because he started his political work from the place in 1999.”For years, the Gandhi family worked hard in Rae Bareli, Amethi and Sultanpur. Amethi wants a Gandhi family member to return. They expect me to represent Amethi if I decide to contest elections,” he said.

Later in April, Vadra had hinted about a political debut in the Lok Sabha elections. Stating that while he has attempted to stay away from politics he did not rule out entering the electoral fray if the party felt he could bring about a change. If given a chance, he said he would pick Moradabad or Haryana to contest from. “People have felt that I should give them an answer, not as a businessman but as an MP inside the Parliament politically,” he said. He added it was not necessary that he contests from Amethi but people from Moradabad and Haryana were also requesting him to contest.

Posters featuring Vadra had appeared outside the party’s office in Amethi, sparking speculation about his potential candidacy, as the nomination filing deadline was rapidly approaching.

Reiterating his desire to contest Lok Sabha elections from the Amethi seat, claiming “widespread support from people” for his entry into active politics, he said, “I have been active in Amethi since 1999 and played a role in the 2004 elections when Sonia ji won the seat. People there have deep affection for me and have always wanted that I should come there.”

After having been denied a ticket from the Amethi seat, Vadra hinted at joining politics as a Rajya Sabha member, saying that he will surely join active politics after some time.

Vadra thinks various ongoing corruption cases against him are no longer a handicap for him. Responding to a question about the allegations levelled against him in an interview in April, Vadra said, “Much time has passed. Whatever allegations they levelled against me were baseless. I have answered all questions before the ED. I have submitted 23,000 documents. I have been going there for years and used to stay there for 12-15 hours.”