By Saiyed Moziz Imam

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS): Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has raised the political temperature in UP by taking the Bharatiya Janata Party government head on over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and has also made a point in the state politics with her interventions.

She has submitted a memorandum to the UP Governor demanding a judicial inquiry into the police atrocities.

But the larger picture which is emerging is that the Gandhi family has tightened the grip on the party. Sonia Gandhi has held the fort in Delhi and is taking along the party veterans and strategists, who are more comfortable to work with her than the younger Gandhi.

She has drafted Priyanka Gandhi to UP, the biggest state in terms of Lok Sabha seats, and Rahul Gandhi is touring the country and has been kept in the loop on key decisions.

A senior leader said, "With Sonia Gandhi at the helm, the party has won Jharkhand and formed the government in Maharashtra. She knows the nuances of politics -- where to move and when to hold the horses."

The Jharkhand win is being seen as the outcome of seamless coordination within the party, with Sonia confidante Ahmed Patel making the strategy and younger leaders, like R.P.N. Singh, the state in-charge, implementing it. Both the younger generation and the veterans were fielded in the elections.

While Rahul Gandhi, with five rallies, was the main campaigner, Priyanka Gandhi also joined the campaign to enhance the party support base.

The former Congress chief is criss-crossing the country, holding campaigns and meetings with party leaders. Many decisions, like fielding young women candidates in Jharkhand polls and Ministers' list in Maharashtra, bear his stamp.

But the real test is in Delhi. The Congress has chosen veteran Subhash Chopra to lead the party and entrusted Rajiv Satav, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, with the job of selecting the candidates as the chairman of the screening committee.

At the same time, Priyanka Gandhi is taking full interest in UP and has picked up issues that are getting tangible support. She led the Sonbhadra agitation with political acumen and the way she has been handling the CAA has rattled other parties. "She is getting good support from the people and in the social media." said Pankaj Shankar, who has a long-time association with the Congress inner circle.

The Congress has learnt from the mistakes of Haryana and Maharashtra where the party campaign could not go full throttle. It lost Haryana by a whisker.

Rahul Gandhi didn't do much campaigning in Haryana and also didn't share the stage with former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. In Maharashtra also, the party could not hold any joint rally with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad pawar.

"We didn't anticipate such a close fight in Haryana and getting support in rural Maharashtra," admitted a senior party leader.