In a fiery display during the special debate on the Constitution in Parliament, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra placed Uttar Pradesh at the heart of their speeches, underscoring issues of injustice and violence that resonate deeply within the state.
So a key question arises: what enabled UP, India's largest state, to suddenly become the focal point of the two Congress stalwarts?
The short answer is that this strategic focus reflects the party’s intent to regain lost ground in India’s most politically significant state after a modest resurgence in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Let us look at the speeches in some detail, to begin with. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who initiated the discussion from the Opposition benches in the Lok Sabha, spotlighted three distressing incidents from Uttar Pradesh: the 2017 Unnao rape and murder case, the custodial death of a Dalit sanitation worker in Agra, and last month’s violence in Sambhal over a Mughal-era mosque.
Drawing on personal connections, Vadra recounted her visits to the families of victims.
“In Unnao, I met the father of the rape victim who was burned alive. He told me his daughter wanted justice, but her complaints were ignored. The courage to fight is what women derive from our Constitution,” she said in the Parliament. Referring to Sambhal, she lamented the loss of a young Muslim man, saying his dream of becoming a doctor had been shattered by a police bullet.
Rahul Gandhi, in his impassioned address, picked up where Priyanka left off, invoking the Hathras gangrape case of 2020. “Where does it say in the Constitution that the victim’s family is locked up while the accused roam free?” he questioned, vowing that the INDIA bloc would relocate the family if the government failed to act. He also accused the BJP of stoking communal discord. “Wherever you go, you incite one religion against another. Show me where it is written in the Constitution to spread hatred,” he said.
Both speeches, heavy with references to Dalit and Muslim communities, appear aimed at consolidating the Congress-Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance’s core voter base ahead of the 2027 state elections. The SP-Congress partnership delivered 43 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year, riding on Dalit-Muslim-Yadav solidarity and the steady decline of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
As The Indian Express reports, Congress leaders acknowledge that past victories have not translated into sustained engagement in UP. Priyanka Gandhi’s high-profile leadership in the 2022 Assembly elections ended in a humiliating rout, with the party managing just two seats out of 403. Since then, her absence from the state has been a sore point for local leaders, even as she secured her political foothold as the MP from Wayanad.
Rahul Gandhi, however, has visibly intensified his presence in UP over recent months. In July, he met families of victims of the Hathras stampede; in August, he reached out to a Dalit family in Rae Bareli; and in November, he attended meetings in Prayagraj and attempted a visit to violence-hit Sambhal. Most recently, he travelled to Hathras to meet the family of the 2020 gangrape victim.
A senior Congress leader remarked to IE: “Rahul ji and Priyanka ji seem to have realised that UP cannot be ignored if the Congress wishes to rebuild nationally. With elections in 2027, the work must begin now."
As per some in the know, maintaining the alliance with the SP and incorporating OBC support could position the Opposition strongly against the BJP in 2027. However, party insiders also say that the alliance with SP is shaky, as was evidenced during the seat share talks during the recently held bypolls in the state. So it is imperative for Congress to assert its own presence in Uttar Pradesh to remain relevant as a national party.
The Congress is also exploring ways to expand its voter coalition, with plans to woo OBCs in addition to Dalits and Muslims.
Despite the momentum, the road ahead is steep for the Congress. The party’s decline in UP has been precipitous since 2014, when it won just two seats—Amethi and Rae Bareli. In 2019, it slumped further to a single seat, with Rahul Gandhi losing Amethi to BJP leader Smriti Irani. Even in the 2022 Assembly polls, Priyanka Gandhi’s spirited “Ladki Hun, Lad Sakti Hun” campaign failed to cut through, securing only two seats.
This year’s Lok Sabha polls offered a glimmer of hope, with the Congress winning six seats and registering a 9.46% vote share. Leaders hope that consistent ground-level engagement and a renewed focus on marginalised communities will help the party carve a more significant role for itself.
Meanwhile, the BJP remains watchful. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to address the Congress’s renewed push in the ongoing Winter Session of the state Assembly, signalling the BJP’s determination to maintain its dominance.
For the Congress, simply being part of the political conversation in UP is progress. Whether this translates into meaningful electoral gains will depend on its ability to sustain momentum, rebuild its crumbling organisation, and navigate the complexities of alliances in India’s most decisive political battlefield.