This week in New Delhi, a fresh nameplate went up on the wall of the room next to that of the president of Indian National Congress, the country's oldest political party. And it reads: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

In a few days, the newest general secretary of Congress, now run by her older brother Rahul Gandhi, will address her first public rally outside the two rural constituencies in Uttar Pradesh (UP) state that she managed for Rahul and their Italian-born mother Sonia Gandhi. This, she will do in Lucknow, the state capital.