Lok Sabha Poll: Congress gears up for leap of faith in Rae Bareli

Congress braces up for prestige poll in Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, April 29: The Congress is slated to announce names of candidates for the Amethi and the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh anytime soon. The central election committee (CEC) of the party had left the decision on naming the candidates on the Congress president, Mallikarjuna Kharge.

Some familiar vehicles were sighted in Amethi yesterday. They reminded the local media of the previous campaigns of the former Congress president, Rahul Gandhi.

At the same time, reports suggest that the Congress may finally unleash Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the electoral ring. The Congress is learnt to have constituted a panel of top guns of the party to run the campaign of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat is slated for polling in the fifth phase on May 20. The Congress parliamentary board chairman, Sonia Gandhi, is likely to helm the election campaign of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Rae Bareli.

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Sonia Gandhi vacated the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat amid anticipation that she would introduce another face from the third generation of the family from the constituency.

Kharge has hinted that the Congress would surprise with the party choice for the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the national general secretary of the Congress. Previously, she had been in-charge of the Congress for Uttar Pradesh.

“The Congress is finally ready to take the decision after getting an overwhelming positive ground report from both the Amethi and the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats. The people from the two constituencies want to see the members of the Gandhi family,” said a Congress insider.

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Sonia Gandhi had represented the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat for 20 years, from 2004 to 2024. She has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

Rahul Gandhi had lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi against Union Minister Smriti Irani. He had defeated Irani in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi.

The Congress is learnt to have drawn out an elaborate plan for Rae Bareli for the maiden electoral plunge of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress sherpa and the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, D K Shivakumar, along with the general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal will lead the charge of the party from Rae Bareli. The Congress will not be taking any chances in the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.

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It may be noted that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had represented the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat from 1967 to 1977. The Congress is strategically casting Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the mould of Indira Gandhi.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with about two decades of hardcore reporting experience on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, The Statesman.

For the past 15 years, Manish has been a regular commentator on AIR on foreign affairs, besides being an author and a blogger.

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