Suspense over the Congress candidates for Amethi and Raebareli seats of Uttar Pradesh continues even as the last-ditch attempts are underway to convince Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, or at least one of the two siblings, to enter the fray.
Amethi and Raebareli will go to the polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on May 20. And the Congress is yet to announce the names of the candidates. The last day for filing nominations for the seats in the fifth phase is May 3.
Also Read: PM Modi’s blitz on Rahul, Congress, says India doesn’t become an autocracy if ‘Yuvraj’ cannot automatically get power
Sources said while both Rahul and Priyanka are reluctant to contest elections from Raebareli or Amethi, efforts are on to convince both or at least one of the two Gandhi siblings to fight elections from the two seats in Uttar Pradesh, considered Congress strongholds. The Congress has not shortlisted any other names for the two seats, they said.
Some reports suggested that Rahul Gandhi may contest from Raebareli seat, with Priyanka choosing not to contest elections. Priyanka will, instead, focus on campaigning for the party nationwide, according to a report in India Today.
Within the grand old party, there is a strong belief that the absence of a Nehru-Gandhi family member in the Uttar Pradesh elections would send a negative political message, according to a report in The Indian Express.
There is also a line of thinking within the Congress that if Rahul Gandhi were to win both Wayanad and Amethi, he would be compelled to vacate one of the seats, a scenario that could potentially annoy the voters.
The Congress had been winning Amethi and Raebareli from 1999 until 2019 Lok Sabha Polls when Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi to Union Minister Smriti Irani. Sonia Gandhi, who has been winning representing Raebareli, has decided to opt out of Lok Sabha race in 2024.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress fields Raj Babbar from Haryana’s Gurgaon, Anand Sharma from Kangra
Rahul, however, contested Lok Sabha Elections 2024 from Wayanad, a seat he won with a considerable margin in 2019 too. Voting in Wayanad was held in the second phase on April 26.
The Congress is contesting elections for Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha seats in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The Congress has been allocated 17 of the 80 seats from UP while the remaining have been distributed among Samajwadi Party and other allies.
The last phase of the Lok Sabha Election will be held on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.
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Published: 01 May 2024, 08:29 AM IST