Bringing an end to months of speculations over the Congress party’s candidates for two of its strongholds, the party announced Rahul Gandhi’s name from Raebareli, meanwhile, Kishori Lal Sharma, a loyalist of Gandhis, will contest the polls from Amethi.
The final date for filing the nomination papers of the two constituencies is May 3, Friday. The two seats, Raebareli and Amethi, are scheduled to go to polls on May 20, in phase 5.
After Sonia Gandhi became a member of the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, the Raebareli seat was vacated.
Rahul Gandhi currently serves as the Member of Parliament for Wayanad in Kerala. He is set to compete for the Raebareli constituency against Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP, whom Sonia Gandhi defeated in the 2019 general elections.
Rahul Gandhi represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha for three consecutive terms – in 2004, 2009, and 2014. However, in 2019, he lost this traditional stronghold of his family to Smriti Irani of the BJP. Subsequently, he secured a seat in the Lower House of Parliament from Wayanad, Kerala.
It’s anticipated that Sonia Gandhi will be present during Rahul Gandhi’s nomination process, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanying Kishori Lal Sharma today.
The delay in announcing candidates for these two constituencies drew widespread criticism from the BJP, which attributed it to the Congress’s purported lack of confidence at its bastions.
When asked about contesting elections from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi stated last month that he would abide by the decision of the party leadership.
Sonia Gandhi represented Rae Bareli from 2004 until 2024, having previously won Lok Sabha elections in Amethi in 1999.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is contesting 17 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, while its ally, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, is contesting 63 seats.
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