Rahul Gandhi likely to fight from mother’s Raebareli seat

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 2

Hours after the BJP named Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Pratap Singh its candidate from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress was learnt to be veering towards fielding former party chief Rahul Gandhi from the seat.

Sources in the Congress said Rahul was likely to shift to the constituency vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi who represents it in the outgoing Lok Sabha. She was elected from Raebareli in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. She has shifted to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan this year.

Sonia contested Raebareli for the first time in 2004 when she vacated her erstwhile seat Amethi for son Rahul’s electoral debut. Rahul won Amethi for three terms before losing to the BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019. It is learnt that the Congress’ internal surveys pointed to Raebareli as a better choice for Rahul this year. The BJP has renominated Smriti from Amethi. It is also learnt that from Amethi, the Congress could field its long-time loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma. Priyanka Vadra is unlikely to contest as the party is not in favour of everyone in the family vying for Parliament.

It remains to be seen how a likely decision of the Congress to shift Rahul to Raebareli would impact the party cadres and Rahul’s own chances in the seat his mother represented for years.

Friday is the last date for filing of nomination for Amethi and Raebareli. Both seats vote in the fifth phase on May 20. The Uttar Pradesh leadership of the Congress has already called upon the Gandhi family to contest both the seats traditionally held by their family. The members of the central election committee have also urged the party leadership to field both Rahul and Priyanka.

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