As pictures of exhausted migrant workers walking barefoot under the scorching Sun drew sharp reactions from different quarters, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, by offering one thousand buses to the Uttar Pradesh government to ferry the stranded workers home, has once again outsmarted her political rivals in the state.
Desperate to strengthen the Congress in the state, Priyanka not only outfoxed the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and the BSP but also pushed the BJP government into a corner and virtually forced it to accept her offer.
Finding themselves outwitted, SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati were also forced to join the issues with the Congress leader.
The BJP government, not wanting to be seen opposing the help, was forced to accept the offer of the Congress general secretary though reluctantly.
Mayawati, who had also initially termed Priyanka's offer as a ''political ploy'', asked the Congress leader to send the buses to Lucknow so that they could be used to send the migrant workers home. Akhilesh Yadav, however, asked the state government to utilise thousands of school buses to ferry the workers home.
Political observers here see Priyanka's ''bus move'' an attempt to send across a message among the workers, that the Congress, despite being in the opposition, was ready to help them.
''Its a crisis....the state government finds itself cornered on the issue...Congress feels that it will gain politically by extending help to the workers,'' said a Lucknow based political analyst.
Earlier also Priyanka had taken the lead in cornering the UP government over alleged police excesses on the people, who had taken part in protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
She was the first opposition politician to reach out to the families of the two youths, who were allegedly killed in police firing during the anti-CAA protests.
She had also dashed to meet the family members of retired IPS officer and social activist S.R.Darapuri, when he was arrested on charges of taking part in the anti-CAA protests Lucknow last year.
Priyanka has been hitting the streets on issues of women's security, farmers and also been attacking the BJP government on social media platforms forcing the saffron party leaders to respond.