Amethi, Rae Bareli Seats: Sources said that the party workers in the UP cities are prepared to campaign but are waiting for official announcement of names of Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The Congress is set to end the suspense over the prestigious Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, with less than 48 hours left for the nomination to end.
Sources said that the party workers in the UP cities are prepared to campaign but are waiting for official announcement of names of Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, respectively. The filing for nominations ends on May 3.
Speculation has been rife that Congress would field its former president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi again, and he will contest both from the UP city and Kerala’s Wayanad like he did in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Amethi will vote on May 20 in the fifth phase of polling along with UP’s Mohanlalganj, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Jalaun, Jhansi, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Barabanki, Faizabad, Kaiserganj and Gonda.
Amethi and Rae Bareli were once strongholds of the Gandhi family. However, in 2019 elections, Rahul Gandhi was dethroned by Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani.
On the other hand, Rae Bareli has been represented in the Lok Sabha by Sonia Gandhi since 2004. The former Congress president, however, moved to the Upper House of Parliament.
There are speculations that Sonia’s daughter and Robert Vadra’s wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be given the Congress nomination from Rae Bareli. Priyanka Gandhi, so far, has not indicated her wish on contesting polls.
A report in The Sunday Guardian stated that she is apparently disappointed at being sidelined in the party, which is virtually being run by her brother, Rahul and his coterie, with Sonia Gandhi endorsing every decision.
