A New Gandhi Enters Politics and Shakes Up India's Election

Priyanka Gandhi is grand-daughter of former PM Indira Gandhi
She’s been given key opposition post in crucial Indian state

Priyanka Gandhi arrives at a rally during the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections in Rae Bareli on Feb. 17, 2017.Photographer: Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images

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By Iain Marlow

January 25, 2019 at 6:34 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

The freshest face in Indian politics looks a lot like one from the past. And it could haunt Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he mounts an increasingly fraught bid for re-election.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, 47, who was formally appointed to a senior role in India’s opposition Congress Party this week, has the curly hair, bearing and crowd-drawing appeal of her formidable grandmother. As prime minister, Indira Gandhi towered over Indian politics for decades and sent shivers into her opponents, some of whom she jailed -- including the two founders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.