Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday took oath as the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad, dressed in a traditional Kerala Kasavu sari and holding a red-bound copy of the Constitution amid chants of “Bharat jodo….”

Mother Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, husband Robert Vadra, Priyanka’s children and her mother-in-law Maureen Vadra watched from the visitors’ gallery.

“Jodo, jodo, Bharat jodo,” Congress members chanted as Priyanka walked up to the raised platform near the Speaker’s chair.

“Jai Hind,” she said after taking the oath of office and secrecy.

Congress managers underlined a poignant parallel: a photograph of Priyanka’s grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, displayed in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building shows her donning a Kasavu sari, too.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi hugged his sister as she walked up to him after taking the oath. Other Congress and INDIA bloc MPs lined up to greet her.

The bond between the siblings was on display earlier in the day, too, as Priyanka walked up the steps to enter the new Parliament building. Rahul stopped her to photograph her.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh was the only senior minister present in the House. Priyanka greeted him with folded hands from a distance as she walked up to sign the House register after taking the oath, and Singh acknowledged it with a smile and nod of the head.

Congress member Ravindra Chavan, who won the by-election from Nanded in Maharashtra, was next to be sworn in as MP.

Priyanka sat in the fourth row behind Rahul, briefly, before the House was adjourned because of anti-government protests over the violence in Sambhal town of Uttar Pradesh.

Outside the House, asked about the impact that the presence of two Gandhis in the Lok Sabha might have, Priyanka said: “Majbooti milegi Rahulji ko aur Congress party ko (It will give strength to Rahul and the Congress party).”

Asked why she took the oath with a copy of the Constitution in her hand, she replied: “For us, there is nothing above the Constitution. We are fighting for the values enshrined in the Constitution.”

Priyanka is the third Gandhi family member currently in Parliament, with mother Sonia in the Rajya Sabha.

Priyanka won the by-election from Wayanad with a margin of over 4 lakh votes. Rahul had surrendered the seat after winning from family borough Rae Bareli, too, in the general election and deciding to retain the heartland seat.

BJP social media head Amit Malviya put out a bitter post on X. “New Muslim League MP from Wayanad takes oath. Epoch moment for the Gandhi family,” he wrote.

In a follow-up post, Malviya said: “Interesting fact: three out of seven ACs of Wayanad parliamentary seat, are part of Malappuram, a Muslim majority district, with approx. 70.24% (as per 2011 census; must be much higher now) Muslim population.”