Priyanka's rally strike rate worse than that of Rahul Gandhi

As the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gets a heavy mandate, winning 353 seats in the Lok Sabha Election 2019, the saffron party is all set to regain power in the lower house of Parliament.

On the other hand, the Congress party had to face a resounding defeat with its president Rahul Gandhi losing from his family bastion seat of Amethi. The party's alliance was also reduced to 91 seats in the Lok Sabha, down by five seats from its tally in the previous election. Though, Rahul Gandhi did get a bit of consolation by winning from Wayanad, Kerala, getting him a way back to sit in Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi who spearheaded the 2019 election campaign for the party, held 124 rallies in 115 constituencies across India. However, he was not able to woo the voters by his campaigning as the UPA lost on 96 of those seats, giving him a winning strike rate of mere 17 percent.

This election also saw the entry of Priyanka Gandhi, the youngest scion of the Gandhi clan, into politics as the in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh with 41 seats under her charge. Her arrival was considered to be a 'Brahmastra' for the party, with the view that her leadership would strengthen Congress's chance of garnering more votes, leading to a cut in BJP's vote share.

Even though Priyanka Gandhi was inducted into formal politics barely three months before the election, she still held 44 rallies in 38 constituencies during her campaigning. While most of her rallies (26) were concentrated in UP, she also campaigned for Congress candidates in MP, Delhi, Jharkhand and Haryana.

However, her strike rate for rallies is even worse than her brother's. Of the 38 constituencies where Priyanka campaigned, UPA managed to win only on two seats, a strike rate of 5 percent. The seats are Rae Bareilly, from where her mother Sonia Gandhi has won, and Wayanad, the winning constituency of Rahul Gandhi.