Cong's decision on Amethi, Rae Bareli seats today

May 02, 2024 09:17

Rahul Gandhi has contested from the Wayanad seat

With just a day left for the filing of nominations for Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections, the suspense continued over the Congress' candidates for the Amethi and Raebareli constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, once considered a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

According to sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is already on the Congress ticket from Wayanad in Kerala, which polled in the second phase on April 26, is likely to put himself in the fray from Amethi as well. Rahul's candidature from the seat he lost to Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani in 2019 will be formally announced on Thursday, and he will file his nomination from the constituency on Friday, sources said. The sources added that along with Congress leaders, its partners in the INDIA bloc also suggested that Rahul contest Amethi.

"They also proposed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the candidate from Raebareli," a source said.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), which earlier announced a seat-sharing pact with the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh, told Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge that after its supremo Akhilesh Yadav's decision to contest Kannauj, Rahul's entry into the fray along with his sister Priyanka may bring unexpected electoral dividend to the Opposition bloc, sources said. "Kharge told Sonia Gandhi that the party and he, himself, was in favour of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka contesting the elections (from Amethi and Raebareli)," the source added.

However, adding to the intrigue around the Congress' choice of candidates for these two constituencies, sources claimed that even as Rahul and Priyanka appear reluctant to contest Amethi and Raebareli, Kharge insisted that at least one of them enter the fray.

At the party's committee meeting recently, the Congress' UP unit formally moved a proposal that members of the Gandhi family should contest the Amethi and Raibareli seats and a final decision in the matter was left to Kharge. -- ANI

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