Priyanka Gandhi campaigns in Raebareli
A day after she cued a blue-chip political controversy by speaking about the corruption allegations against her husband,
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra continued her campaign in Uttar Pradesh for her mother, Sonia Gandhi, the powerful president of the Congress party. (
India Votes 2014: complete coverage)
"Sonia ji has sent me," Priyanka, 42, told voters in Raebareli. "You must vote not for her, but for India," she said. In this election, the Congress has highlighted its commitment to secularism in contrast with what it describes as the dangerous and divisive politics of the opposition BJP, which is being forecast to win the maximum seats. (
Watch: Priyanka campaigns in Raebareli)
Priyanka did not refer by name to
Narendra Modi ,the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, but made it clear that she was referring to him when she said, "The other campaign is centred around one man and giving power to him. If all power is vested in one person, is that right?" Critics say that Mr Modi, who is expected to lead the BJP to its best performance ever, has turned the BJP campaign into a pitch for himself, rather than his party. (
Also read: Stop personal attacks on Modi too: Jaitley's response to Priyanka)
Priyanka is not running for parliament but is managing the campaigns for her mother and older brother Rahul in their constituencies of Raebareli and Amethi.
Rahul Gandhi is leading the Congress campaign as the party battles opinion poll predictions of an outsized defeat.
Priyanka,
who yesterday told voters that her family is "being humiliated" by the opposition's attacks on her husband,
Robert Vadra, did not mention him today, but spoke again about "personal attacks" being made by politicians. Mr Modi has referred sarcastically in rallies to what he describes as Mr Vadra's unique ability to accumulate vast wealth in a short period.
Priyanka's comments yesterday were her first acknowledgment of the allegations of corruption that have been swirling around Mr Vadra, an 45-year-old entrepreneur whose business interests include real estate. The BJP and Arvind Kejriwal of the
Aam Aadmi Party or AAP claim that Mr Vadra profited illegally through land deals in Haryana, where the Congress government bent the rules for the party president's son-in-law.
The Haryana government claims an inquiry has proved those claims as baseless. The Supreme Court last year refused to order an investigation into the contentious land deals, declaring a person "can't be called a sinner merely because he is linked to a politician."