"I am very clear in my mind. Politics is not a strong pull, the people are. And I can do things for them without being in politics" 

                                                                                                                                                [Priyanka Gandhi Vadra]

Childhood and study

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She is also the sister of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. She was born in Delhi on January 12, 1972. It is a matter of great pride that her father, grandmother and great-grandfather, viz. Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, all were the Prime Ministers of India. Her mother Sonia Gandhi is currently the President of the Indian National Congress and also the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was studied in Modern School, Convent of Jesus and Mary, and is a graduate in Psychology from the University of Delhi. She is married to Robert Vadra, and has two children, Raihan and Miraya.

Though Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has not been very active in politics, she did play a crucial role for the Congress during the elections in Uttar Pradesh for both assembly and Parliament. She concentrated in Raebareli and Amethi constituencies from where her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi are the sitting Member of Parliaments. During an interview to BBC Priyanka Gandhi Vadra once said: "I am very clear in my mind. Politics is not a strong pull, the people are. And I can do things for them without being in politics". Regarding her active participation in politics she had said "I have said it a thousand times, I am not interested in joining politics...". However, she continued to regularly visit her mother's and brother's constituencies of Rae Bareilly and Amethi where she dealt with the people directly, a role she appears to enjoy. She is a popular figure in the constituency, drawing large crowds everywhere. During the Parliament elections in 2004, she became the campaign manager of her mother Sonia Gandhi and also played a great role by supervising the campaign for her brother and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. She is reputed as a good organizer, level headed, and always believed in the principles of her party, the Congress.

As a Congress campaigner

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with her brother Rahul Gandhi and with the support of Sonia Gandhi had a strong hand in the resurgence of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh during the last Parliament elections. Congress in spite of its worst performance in the recent past could manage to win seven seats out of ten in the Amethi and Rae Bareilly region, instead of just two in the same region in the 2002 Assembly elections. In the U.P assembly elections, 2007, while Rahul Gandhi managed the statewide campaign, she focused on the ten seats in the Amethi Rae Bareilly region, spending two weeks there trying to quell considerable infighting within the party workers over seat allocations. This sensational advancement proved that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is a person with vision, a crowd puller and also has the leadership acumen.

Though she has said time and again that she doesn't want to be a politician, it can't be denied that a number of Congress supporters adore her charisma. During election campaigns she interacts with the common folk, and apparently enjoys talking to them. She wants to serve the people without actively joining politics; but the past experiences proves beyond doubt that people of Amethi and Raebareli are very fond of her.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been praised for being as diplomatic as her mother, Sonia Gandhi, the President of Indian National Congress. She is level-headed and organized and has got all the ability to become a good mass leader.