Lok Sabha elections 2024 news: Priyanka Gandhi is not contesting the Raebareli Lok Sabha elections from either of the two Congress bastions. The last date for filing nominations from both Rae Bareli and Amethi is today.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and Congress loyalist KL Sharma has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, according to the Congress party’s press release.
Priyanka Gandhi is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections from either of the two Congress bastions. The last date for filing nominations from both Rae Bareli and Amethi is today.
The Gandhi family will be in Amethi for KL Sharma’s nomination. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge will be present at the occasion, news agency ANI reported quoting a local Congress worker.
The worker said: “The Gandhi family is coming for KL Sharma nomination. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge will be here…”
Apart from Rae Bareli, the Gandhi scion has contested from Kerala’s Wayanad as well. While the voting in Rae Bareli is slated to take on May 20, voters of Wayanad exercised their right to franchise on April 26.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli. In the 2019 general elections, Singh lost to Sonia Gandhi. Amethi and Rae Bareli have been Congress bastions in Uttar Pradesh.
Amethi and Rae Bareli – Congress’ last bastions in UP
Rahul Gandhi represented the Amethi for three consecutive terms from 2004 till 2019 when he lost against BJP leader and sitting MP from Amethi Smriti Irani. At present, Rahul Gandhi represents Kerala’s Wayanad constituency.
Before Rahul Gandhi, his mother, and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi represented Amethi from 1999-2004. Before Sonia Gandhi, the seat was represented by Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Rae Bareli, on the other hand, has been represented by Sonia Gandhi for around two decades from 2004 to 2024. Earlier this year, the former Congress president said she would not contest the Lok Sabha elections and moved to the Rajya Sabha, citing ill health.
Alliance with Samajwadi Party
The Congress has entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the state as part of the INDIA bloc and is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
As per the seat-sharing with the SP, Congress is contesting Raebareli, Amethi, Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki and Deoria. Notably, the Congress has fielded its UP state chief Ajay Rai against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi.
