Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi and Rae Bareli,  the election committee of the Congress has taken the final decision.

'We want Rahul-Priyanka', CEC leaves Amethi and Rae Bareli decision on Kharge

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are set to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. Of course, it has not been formally announced by the party yet, but in the meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee held on Saturday night, party leaders unanimously advocated Rahul and Priyanka’s entry into the field.

All eyes are on both Amethi and Rae Bareli seats. The Congress has not yet announced a candidate for its old strongholds. Amethi was a Congress stronghold till  2019 but BJP’s Smriti Irani snatched it from Rahul Gandhi. After going to the Rajya Sabha, Sonia Gandhi vacated the Rae Bareli seat, which started speculation that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may start the election from the family seat.

Earlier in the day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the names of the party candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh will be announced in  a “few days”.  Asked about the party’s probable candidates from Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats, Gandhi said, “You will have to wait for a few more days…Once I get the names of the candidates from the people and I sign the notification, then it will be announced. “

There is speculation that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may contest from these seats, though there has been no confirmation from the party so far. During a press conference in Ghaziabad recently, when Rahul Gandhi was asked about contesting from Amethi, he said that the decision will be taken in the party’s Central Election Committee meeting and whatever the party’s order, he will follow it. Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala’s Wayanad, where voting concluded on Friday.

Congress’s UP in-charge Avinash Pandey raised the demand on behalf of the public

Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey had said that Uttar Pradesh has  80  Lok Sabha seats and this state plays an important role in forming the government at the Centre. He further said, “Congress workers,  the people of Rae Bareli and Amethi as well as other parts of Uttar Pradesh are requesting with folded hands that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi must contest elections under any circumstances.” “

Avinash Pandey proposed to field Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from these two seats in UP. According to sources, in the CEC meeting, he said that if they agree, Rahul Gandhi should contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi from Rae Bareli. During this time Sonia Gandhi did not say anything.

Priyanka Gandhi likely to contest from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat

The Election Committee left the final decision of the candidature of these two most high profile leaders of the party to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, but it is clear from the indications from the party that Rahul Gandhi will again beat his former traditional seat of Amethi. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the election to maintain the legacy of her mother Sonia Gandhi’s traditional Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.

Rahul Gandhi contested for the first time from Amethi in  the year 2004. After this, he won three consecutive times from here.  In the  2019 Lok Sabha elections, apart from Amethi, he also contested from Wayanad seat in Kerala. In this, Rahul won the election from Wayanad, but in Amethi, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani defeated him. If the Congress fields Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the electoral battle from Rae Bareli, then it will be her first electoral contest. Sonia Gandhi has been an MP from this seat, but after she reached Parliament via Rajya Sabha, this seat has now become vacant.

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi decided not to contest from Rae Bareli this time and she has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He represented the region for two decades. Rahul Gandhi was a Lok Sabha member from  Amethi from 2004  to  2019.  In the  2019 Lok Sabha elections, he had to face defeat against Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and Union Minister Smriti Irani.

Kharge will take the final decision

The Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) in its meeting on Saturday urged party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Sonia Gandhi to make Rahul Gandhi the Lok Sabha candidate from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Rae Bareli. The final decision on this issue will be taken by Kharge. After the CEC members strongly advocated Rahul-Priyanka, the final decision has been left to the party president for the time being.

At the meeting chaired by Kharge, all members endorsed the views of the party leaders from Uttar Pradesh and left the decision to the top leadership. Sources said that the decision on whether Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi or not will be taken in a day or two. There is speculation that Rahul Gandhi may be fielded from Amethi Lok Sabha seat. Lok Sabha candidates for the remaining five seats in Punjab were also discussed during the CEC meeting.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress has also proposed the names of Rahul and Priyanka for these two seats and urged them to contest the elections. It is believed that in the election committee meeting, all the present members agreed to this and supported Rahul and Priyanka to be made candidates. However, given the political sensitivity of these two seats associated with the Gandhi family, the decision was left to Kharge.

When asked after the election committee meeting, a highly placed source associated with the party said that the entry of both our veterans in the election battle of Uttar Pradesh has been decided and there is a strong possibility of it being announced on Sunday. According to him, after the announcement of the candidature of party leaders from Amethi and Rae Bareli, the thrill of the state’s election battle will not only increase but the BJP’s propaganda that Rahul was running away from the election battle of Uttar Pradesh will be removed.

Asked if the BJP was criticising Rahul Gandhi for contesting from Kerala’s Wayanad instead of Amethi, Kharge said, “Those who are questioning Congress leaders for changing constituencies, let them tell me how many times Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani changed their seats.”  “There was a demand of the people of Wayanad and he (Rahul) went there. Leaders should go on the demand of the people.

Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad seat.

Wayanad in Kerala  went to polls in the second phase on April 26, from where Rahul Gandhi is contesting for the second time. Rahul Gandhi, a three-time MP from Amethi, lost to BJP leader Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections. However, in Wayanad, he won a massive victory by more than four lakh votes.

Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.  Voting for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was held on April 26. In such a situation, the demand has intensified within the party that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi should be fielded from Amethi and Rae Bareli.  On April  25, Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pandey had demanded the party workers to field Rahul and Priyanka in Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats. During the meeting held at the Congress headquarters on Saturday, the workers said that not contesting in Amethi and Rae Bareli seats would indicate that the Congress has surrendered to the BJP in the Hindi-speaking areas.

Congress will field Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, but what is in the minds of the people there, some guess can be guessed. A media channel talked to the voters of Amethi about this and found that the views of the people here about Rahul Gandhi are divided. Many Congress supporters and other locals said they want Rahul to contest again. Some people also expressed dissatisfaction in this.

A medical store owner firmly maintained that Rahul will contest from Amethi and added that people should vote for him. An activist and lawyer said if Rahul decides to contest the election, he will win with a big margin. A businessman said he would support any candidate of the Congress but wanted Rahul to be given a ticket from Amethi.

On the other hand, a voter said that Rahul has done nothing for Amethi during his three terms. One of the lawyers said they were opposed to Rahul contesting from Amethi. They say people can’t vote for someone who can’t decide. He said Amethi was his safe bet and legacy, but he did not trust the people here and hence the voters chose someone else.

Smriti Irani challenges

BJP has once again made Smriti Irani a candidate from Amethi. Amidst mixed trends of the people of Amethi, he has openly challenged Rahul Gandhi to contest from here. In her campaign before the Lok Sabha elections, Irani repeatedly targeted Gandhi, saying Rahul Gandhi did nothing for the people of Amethi during his  15-year tenure. He also hit out at Rahul for choosing Wayanad as his family. This comes at a time when some Congress workers are suggesting that if Rahul decides to contest from Wayanad, then Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra should contest from Amethi.

In election meetings, she clearly says that earlier there were posters of missing MP in Amethi, but now it is not so. After voting in Wayanad on the 26th, the Gandhi family’s convoy will come to Amethi, Rahul, who had broken   the so-called relationship with Amethi for  15 years and went to Wayanad.  For 15 years, the people of Amethi carried a missing MP. Now after April  26, we will come to Amethi and form a new relationship.                                                                                                  

Congress has won the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat 17  times.

 Since  1951, the Congress has won the Rae Bareli seat  17 times. Feroze Gandhi was the first to represent Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat. After this, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was elected MP from here three times. In 1977, Janata Party leader Raj Narayan defeated Indira Gandhi from this seat. After this, BJP also won this seat twice in  the year 1996 and 1998.

 Sonia Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha elections for the first time in  1999 from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Bellary in Karnataka. He later resigned from the Bellary seat. Sonia Gandhi’s husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was also a four-time MP from Amethi Lok Sabha seat. In 2004, Sonia Gandhi left the Amethi seat for her son Rahul Gandhi and contested from Rae Bareli.

Preparations being made at the booth level

Smriti is also engaged in speeding up her campaign by entering the election field this time and the formal announcement of the candidature of top Congress leaders is still awaited. However, the fact is that the Congress election management system is already active in Amethi and Rae Bareli and preparations at the booth level are being strengthened this time.

Hope to get SP’s support

According to Congress strategists, no stone will be left unturned this time to reverse the results of the last election in Amethi. At the same time, the party believes that after Priyanka’s landing in Rae Bareli, the challenge of maintaining this traditional stronghold for the Gandhi family will not be very difficult. There is an electoral alliance of Congress and SP in Uttar Pradesh, in such a situation, SP’s organizational structure will also get full support in both these seats.

Conclusion By aAditri Digital

The decision of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections has sparked significant interest and speculation within political circles and among the public. The Congress Central Election Committee’s endorsement of their candidature, albeit without a formal announcement yet, underscores the party’s strategic positioning in a crucial electoral battleground.

The potential candidature of Rahul from Amethi and Priyanka from Rae Bareli carries historical and symbolic weight, rooted in the Congress party’s legacy in these constituencies. Amethi, once a stronghold for the Congress, saw a shift in power during the 2019 elections, highlighting the competitive dynamics of Indian politics. Similarly, Rae Bareli has been synonymous with the Gandhi family’s political footprint for decades.

The Congress’s decision, guided by inputs from party leaders and public sentiments, reflects a strategic move to reclaim lost ground and uphold traditional strongholds. It also aligns with the party’s efforts to counter rival narratives and project a united front under the leadership of Rahul and Priyanka.

The upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh are pivotal not only for the state but also for national politics, given Uttar Pradesh’s substantial contribution to parliamentary seats. The Congress’s alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) adds another layer of complexity and opportunity, potentially bolstering the party’s electoral prospects.

The enthusiasm and support expressed by Congress workers, local communities, and party leaders signify a renewed energy and optimism within the Congress camp. The careful deliberation within the Election Committee and the impending official announcement indicate a methodical approach to electoral strategy and candidate selection.

As the political landscape evolves and election campaigns intensify, the candidature of Rahul and Priyanka will undoubtedly be scrutinized, debated, and strategized by various stakeholders. Their entry into the electoral fray brings with it a blend of experience, legacy, and contemporary political dynamics, shaping the narrative of the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Ultimately, the impact of their candidature will unfold in the electoral process, where voter preferences, campaign dynamics, and political alliances will determine the outcome. The Congress’s decision reflects its commitment to democratic processes, grassroots engagement, and a competitive electoral strategy aimed at regaining political relevance and influence.