Priyanka Gandhi Sworn In as MP, Becomes 15th Nehru-Gandhi to Enter Parliament

Priyanka Gandhi is the third MP from her generation from the Nehru-Gandhi clan and the fourth to win from South.

(Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was sworn in as MP in Lok Sabha)

Arun Sharma

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was sworn in as an MP in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, 28 November. Wearing a traditional Kerala Kasavu Sari, Gandhi entered Parliament accompanied by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders.

Priyanka Gandhi won a massive victory with a margin of 4.1 lakh votes in the by-election to the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. Polling over 6 lakh votes, she defeated CPI-M's Sathyan Mokeri, while BJP’s Navya Haridas stood third.  

The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Rahul Gandhi, who had contested the Lok Sabha elections from both Rae Bareli and Wayanad. He decided to retain Rae Bareli and Priyanka Gandhi was nominated as the Congress candidate from Wayanad.  

With this Priyanka Gandhi will begin a new phase in her political career. She had joined active politics in 2019, as a general secretary of the Congress. Before this, her focus had mainly been on her mother Sonia Gandhi’s erstwhile constituency Rae Bareli.  

Another Gandhi Enters Parliament

Priyanka Gandhi will now be the 15th member of the Nehru-Gandhi clan to enter Parliament, and the third in her generation.  She is the eighth woman from the clan.

The family’s tryst with electoral politics began around a century ago, when Motilal Nehru became part of the Central Legislative Assembly. He had earlier been part of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Legislative Council as well.  

However, in that era elections weren’t based on universal adult franchise and the right to vote was highly restricted.  

1. The first member of Parliament from the family in independent India was India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. From 1952 until his death in 1964, he represented constituencies like Allahabad and Phulpur.  

2.  Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, was also an MP from 1952 to 1964, making history as the first woman MP and diplomat.  

3. Uma Nehru, the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru’s cousin Shamlal Nehru, was MP from UP’s Sitapur twice in the 1950s.  

4. Sheila Kaul, another member of the extended family, served as an MP for over two decades from 1952, representing Lucknow and Rae Bareli.

5. Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, entered Parliament in 1967 and had a long career until her assassination in 1984, representing constituencies such as Rae Bareli, Medak and Chikmaglur. 

6. Her husband, Feroze Gandhi, was an MP from Rae Bareli in the 1950s and is remembered for his efforts to expose corruption. 

7. Uma and Shamlal Nehru’s eldest daughter, Shyam Kumari Khan, was a Rajya Sabha MP in the 1960s.  

8. Indira's sons carried forward the family legacy: Sanjay Gandhi was MP from Amethi for a brief while, before his death in an accident.

9. Rajiv Gandhi served as MP from 1981 to 1991 for Amethi, becoming Prime Minister in 1984.

10. Arun Nehru, the son of Uma Nehru, was also MP from Rae Bareli and became Union Minister

11. Maneka Gandhi became an MP in 1989 and has been winning from either Pilibhit or Sultanpur in UP until her defeat in 2024.

12. Sonia Gandhi entered Parliament in 1999, winning from Bellary in Karnataka and Amethi in UP. She later shifted to Rae Bareli.

13. Rahul Gandhi, became an MP in 2004, representing Amethi and later Wayanad,

14. Varun Gandhi won from Pilibhit in 2009 and 2014 on a BJP ticket and shifted to Sultanpur in 2019. He was denied a ticket by BJP in 2024.

What Next for Priyanka Gandhi? 

After being elected, Priyanka thanked the voters on X. She said: “My dearest sisters and brothers of Wayanad, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament!” 

Beginning her electoral career from Wayanad is a strange twist of fate for Priyanka Gandhi. When she joined politics in 2019 and even before that, Uttar Pradesh was supposed to become her political Karmabhoomi.  

A number of surveys also showed that Rahul Gandhi had a greater appeal in the South as compared to Hindi speaking states.  

However, the 2024 Lok Sabha election verdict changed this, with the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance doing surprisingly well in UP. After such a result, it wouldn’t have been politically wise for Rahul Gandhi to vacate Rae Bareli.  

Being an MP from Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi will now become an important campaigner for the party in Kerala and other southern states. Assembly elections are due in Kerala in 2026 and the Congress-led UDF hopes to defeat the CPI-M led LDF that has been in power since 2016.  

Priyanka Gandhi entering the Lok Sabha would also give the Opposition benches another good orator in both Hindi and English.