If there has been any politician who has been at the forefront of the opposition against BJP in the aftermath of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, it is clearly Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She has been able to successfully push BJP into the defensive by launching a scathing attack on both the Yogi Adityanath and Narendra Modi governments.
Her detention and her camping in Lakhimpur Kheri for days have energised Congress party cadres.
She has been visiting several parts of Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, to mobilise Congress workers and meet aggrieved farmers ahead of assembly polls.
Can Lakhimpur Kheri prove to be a turning in Uttar Pradesh politics, and consequently for national politics? Senior editor of The Wire Arfa Khanum Sherwani discusses this with Congress leader and four-term MP Deependra Hooda.