Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli Lok Sabha constituency on Friday. The senior Congress leader was accompanied by party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, his mother and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra.
Quoting sources, Moneycontrol reported that Rahul Gandhi was reluctant to contest elections from UP, but he ultimately yielded to the persuasion from several senior party leaders.
“In a meeting late last night, Rahul Gandhi clearly refused to contest elections from Amethi. The reason being, that he has painstakingly built the narrative of Modi’s opponent and he cannot dilute it by contesting against Smriti Irani. In such a situation, he was persuaded to go to Raebareli citing his heritage and bonding the Gandhi family share with that constituency,” a Congress leader told Moneycontrol.
Congress leaders emphasised Raebareli’s unwavering support to the party, even in adversity. Acknowledging the region’s significance, Rahul Gandhi agreed to contest from there, recognising it as Congress’s safest seat in the state.
“Even in that meeting Congress leaders told Rahul Gandhi that contesting from Raebareli would be a calculated move, with the party deeming it a safer bet compared to Amethi, a constituency he previously represented,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, the decision was communicated to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav the night before Rahul’s nomination. SP is an ally of the Congress party in the INDIA bloc.
Yadav expressed his opinion that both Amethi and Raebareli are synonymous with Gandhi family and they should contest both the seats, the Moneycontrol report said.
Congress candidates from Raebareli and Amethi
Earlier in the day, Congress announced Rahul Gandhi as the party candidate from Raebareli, the seat vacated recently by his mother Sonia Gandhi when she became a member of Rajya Sabha. Rahul is pitted against Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli.
In Amethi, the Congress will be represented by Kishori Lal Sharma, a longtime loyalist of the Gandhi family. Kishori Lal Sharma filed his nomination from the Amethi seat earlier in the day.
The voting in both seats will be held in the fifth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on May 7. Polling for 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.
(With inputs from agencies and Moneycontrol)
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Published: 03 May 2024, 03:33 PM IST