The BJP Wednesday termed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into active politics as an admission by the Congress that its president Rahul Gandhi has "failed" in providing leadership and said he has opted for family "crutches" after facing rejection from other opposition parties.
Priyanka's appointment as the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh, East, which marked her entry into the party's hierarchy, was used by BJP leaders to take a swipe at the president of the opposition party and also at its "family rule.
BJP leaders chose not to target Priyanka even though they latched on to her appointment to target her brother and her party's "dynastic leadership", claiming that the party is family in their organisation while the family is party in the Congress.
BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks about the poor and provided them 10 per cent quota recently, in the Congress there is reservation for the members of only one family.
Goyal's cabinet colleague Ravi Shankar Prasad said wryly that since the Congress is a "family concern", there is nothing unusual except about her appointment and wondered why was given the limited role of eastern UP as her persona merited a wider role for her.
Soon after her appointment, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters, "The Congress has basically publicly announced that Rahul Gandhi has failed and needs crutches from within the family. Because of his rejection by grand alliance parties, he has opted for a family alliance".
The new India is asking the question, the BJP leader said, that who will be the next leader in the Congress as he referred to its succession line from Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi followed by Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
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"All appointments are from one family. And this is the fundamental difference between the Congress and the BJP. In the Congress, the family is party. In the BJP, the party is family," Patra said.
Indicating that the ruling party will use the development to sharpen its attack on the Congress, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has projected the Lok Sabha elections as a battle between "naamdar" (dynasts) and "kaamdar" (those who have worked).
BJP leader and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the dynastic politics has taken two steps forward with Priyanka's appointment.
Party's spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain described the move as a step taken by the Congress in panic but she cannot stop her party's "inevitable defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
"The Congress has accepted the fact that it can not win elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
She had campaigned for the Congress in 2014 general elections in Uttar Pradesh and we all know what was the outcome," he said.
The BJP had won 71 of 80 seats in the state in 2014.
Taking a jibe, the ruling party's general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said only "jijaji"- a reference to Rahul's brother-in-law Robert Vadra- has ben left out now and that he should be made the treasurer of the Congress.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who is its chief whip in the Lok Sabha, said hardworking Congress party workers continue to be overlooked while members of a family continue to get promoted.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, he wondered if he couldn't trust anyone from UP Congress to lead the party.
BJP ally JD(U) welcomed Priyanka's entry into active politics but its spokesperson K C Tyagi added that her appointment has come too late and would be of no help to the Congress' fortunes.
He said the Samajwadi Party-BSP alliance in UP had left little space for the Congress in the state and other BJP's rivals, including the TMC, have virtually rejected Rahul Gandhi's leadership.
"Priyanka Gandhi's appointment is the last gambit of the Congress ahead of the polls. We wish her best," he added.
In his reaction, JD(U) vice president Prashant Kishor, who had worked with the Congress as a poll strategist before joining the Bihar-based party, said, "One of the most awaited entries in Indian politics is finally here! While people may debate the timing, exact role and position, to me, the real news is that she finally decided to take the plunge! Congratulations and best wishes to Priyanka Gandhi".
Congress ally and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav welcomed her appointment, saying it will not only energise youth and party's cadre but also motivate 50 per cent woman population in politics.