Hours after Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Raebareli, his Wayanad rival Annie Raja cited that the Congress party should have informed the people of Wayanad of the possibility, even if it was a ‘last-minute decision’. Noting that it is a question of morality, the CPM candidate questioned that Wayanad voters have the right to know that if we wins from both the constituency, where would he resign from.
“I am very sure that it is not a certain decision. Even if they had not taken the final call, they should have informed the people of Wayanad that Raebareli was also in consideration. Suppose he wins from both the seats, he will have to resign from one. It will be an injustice to the people. And they have always taken Wayanad for granted,” Annie Raja said, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Gandhi filed his papers from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli constituency in the afternoon, barely an hour before nominations closed for the Lok Sabha seat on Friday. He was accompanied by Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as he filed his papers around 2 pm.
Gandhi had made his poll debut from Amethi in 2004 and saw relative smooth sailing in the first 10 years with the UPA being in power, while the last 10 years have been challenging.
He won the 2014 polls against the BJP’s Smriti Irani by over a lakh votes but she had run a spirited campaign and made inroads into the Congress citadel of Amethi. She finally breached the fortress in 2019, beating the Gandhi family scion by over 55,000 votes. However, Gandhi’s ‘Plan B’ seemed to have worked as he contested the polls from two constituencies and won from Kerala’s Wayanad, ensuring that his stint in Parliament continued.
Raebareli or Wayanad: Congress says…
On possibility of choosing between the seats, in case the senior Congress leader wins from both seats, the chances are he would be keeping family bastion Raebareli. However, Congress leader Manickam Tagore said the party would take this decision once the election is over.
“Let the election be over first, then the party will decide. Rahul Gandhi will win both seats and we all know that in Wayanad people have great love & affection for him. In Raebareli also, we all know that the family represented it. Be it Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi. We will win both seats with a huge margin,” Tagore said.
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Published: 03 May 2024, 05:30 PM IST