GORAKHPUR, India ¨C At a recent election rally, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the scion of India¡¯s Nehru-Gandhi family that dominates the opposition Congress party, strode on stage and asked the crowd to repeat after her: ¡°I¡¯m a woman, I can fight.¡±
The slogan is at the heart of the party¡¯s bid to revive its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh, India¡¯s most populous state that goes to the polls early next year, by winning over women voters who have long been marginalized but are starting to find a voice.
The Uttar Pradesh result will offer a clue as to whether the Congress, which dominated Indian politics for decades, can mount a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next general election in 2024.
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