As soon as the BJP quashed all speculation of Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s being the party’s chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh, a buzz began in the Congress on the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi “playing an important role” in the State, which goes to the polls in 2017.

Although elections are still months away, the question of who is to be the face of the party in UP has been answered neither by the BJP nor by the Congress.

The dilemma of the two national parties is heightened by the presence of strong State leaders such as Mayawati, who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Mulayam Singh-Akhilesh Yadav duo leading the ruling Samajwadi Party’s challenge.

BJP on strong ground The BJP is in a much stronger position, having won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats from UP in the 2014 general elections, while the Congress — which won a mere two— is struggling to stay relevant in the politically-crucial State. To be talked about and to keep people interested, the Congress’ poll strategists have kept alive the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi’s “crucial” role in the UP poll campaign through intermittent speculation to this effect.

Will she, won’t she? On Tuesday, a television channel ran a news report quoting Congress sources about Priyanka Gandhi’s possible entry into active politics through UP. There was, however, no confirmation of this report. Incidentally, Priyanka Gandhi is a primary member of the party and has campaigned in the Nehru-Gandhi family’s bastions of Amethi, Rae Bareli and Sultanpur in almost all elections in the past decade.

“The party has a strategy and it will be unveiled at the right time,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said. Another Congress leader from UP, Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family said, “It is up to the party and the family to decide when Priyanka will enter politics. Workers have been demanding it for a long time.”

‘Several in the running’ Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh dismissed the suggestion of him being projected as chief ministerial candidate. “The party has several capable leaders who can fit the bill,” the Home Minister said, while dismissing the question as “hypothetical”.

While Singh, who has been UP Chief Minister earlier, will remain a main campaigner, the question of whether the party will project a CM candidate at all has not been settled. Other names being bandied about are those of Smriti Irani, Mahesh Sharma and Yogi Adityanath.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the party’s Parliamentary Board will take a call on whether BJP will project a CM candidate in UP.

“With due respect to Mayawati ji and Mulayam Singh ji , they are leaders of regional parties. The BJP is a national party with many leaders who fit the profile (of UP CM),” said Trivedi. Quoting a Hindi couplet, Trivedi said there are “many generals in the BJP’s army”.

Yadi senapati ki hai chah tumhe, to Ram dal mein fazil hai/Ek nahin, wahan beesiyon senapati banana kabil hai  (If you are looking for a General in the army of Lord Ram, there is not one but several who fit the bill),” he said.

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