Congress leader and Wayanad Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi doesn’t want any family member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, including himself, to be fielded from Amethi or Raebareli seats in Uttar Pradesh, a report said on May 1. Rahul had agreed to fight from Raebareli earlier, but has now decided not to enter the fray, the report in Hindustan Times said.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Cong makes last-ditch attempts to convince Rahul, Priyanka to contest in Amethi, Raebareli
The two seats – Amethi and Raebareli – will vote 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. And Rahul Gandhi has scheduled a rally on Pune on May 3, according to the Hindustan Times report.
The Congress leadership, including party President Malikarjun Kharge are learnt to be making last-ditch attempts to convince Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, or at least one of the two siblings, to enter the fray from the two seats considered party strongholds.
Earlier on May 1, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the names of the candidates for the two seats will be announced within 24 hours and that the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) has empowered Kharge to take a decision.
Earlier, some reports had suggested that Rahul Gandhi may contest from Raebareli seat, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra choosing not to contest elections. Priyanka will, instead, focus on campaigning for the party nationwide, according to a report in India Today.
There is a strong belief within the Congress party 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.
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. Voting in Wayanad was held in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26.
Some Congress leaders also feel 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. The Bharatiya Janata Party has once again fielded Irani from Amethi. Sonia Gandhi, who has been winning representing Raebareli, has decided to opt out of Lok Sabha race in 2024.
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Published: 01 May 2024, 04:00 PM IST