Congress leader Rahul Gandhi files his Lok Sabha nomination papers from Rae Bareli on Friday, May 3.
LIVE: Rahul Gandhi files LS nomination from Rae Bareli
Rahul will be contesting against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh while KL Sharma will lock horns with sitting MP Smriti Irani in Amethi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday (May 3) filed his nomination papers from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, a constituency held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades.
He was accompanied by Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Rahul arrived at the Fursatganj airport earlier in the day. Local party workers turned up in large numbers at the collectorate where he filed his papers. Voting in the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 20.
Rahul is also contesting Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad constituency in Kerala.
Earlier, the Congress announced that Rahul Gandhi will contest from Rae Bareli while party leader Kishori Lal Sharma will run from Amethi, ending the suspense over its choice of candidates for the two Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha seats.
Rahul in 2019 lost the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani. Irani has already filed her candidature from the seat.
The BJP on Thursday (May 3) announced Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli. He had lost to Sonia in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Sources earlier said that the Congress has prepared the grandson of former Congress leader and Indira Gandhi's aunt Sheila Kaul as an alternative candidate for Amethi.
Pressure on Gandhis to run from 'bastions'
There was immense pressure on the Gandhi family by the Uttar Pradesh leadership of the Congress to contest both the seats.
The members of the Congress central election committee had also urged the party leadership to field both Rahul and Priyanka from these seats.
The Amethi seat has been represented by Rahul from 2004 and he remained MP from there for three consecutive terms till 2019. He currently represents Kerala's Wayanad constituency from where he has contested this time also.
The Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia from 2004 to 2024 and is considered as the traditional pocket borough of the Gandhi-Nehru family.
Prior to this, Sonia had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics and contested for the first time in 1999.
The seat has previously been represented by Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi.
The Congress has forged an alliance with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh as part of the INDIA bloc and is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Polling for the general elections began on April 19. The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
Live Updates
- 3 May 2024 9:42 AM GMT
'Run Rahul run': BJP takes dig as Congress leader fielded from Rae Bareli
The BJP took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, saying he is contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha polls from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, in addition to Wayanad in Kerala, as he is going to lose the contest in the southern state.
"Bhag Rahul bhag, Rahul bhag, Rahul bhag (run Rahul run) -- this is what will go on now," Dushyant Kumar Gautam, the national general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), told a press conference at the party headquarters here when asked about Gandhi contesting the polls from Rae Bareli.
When pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the former Congress chief not to run out of fear, Gautam quipped, "Well, he (Gandhi) is a kid. He should be encouraged."
- 3 May 2024 8:40 AM GMT
Rahul Gandhi files nomination from Rae Bareli
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi files nomination from Raebareli for the upcoming #LokSabhaElection2024
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2024
BJP has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh from Raebareli. pic.twitter.com/R0IYOCnJA1 - 3 May 2024 8:28 AM GMT
Fielding Rahul from Rae Bareli a responsibility not just a legacy: Congress
The Congress on Friday said it has taken a decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli after a lot of deliberation and strategy, and that the constituency is not just a legacy but also a responsibility.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is a long election process and there are a few chess moves still left to play. He also justified Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not contesting any election, saying she can reach Parliament by contesting any bypoll, but is currently taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to counter him on his alleged "lies" during campaigning.
"Many people have given different opinions on the news of Rahul Gandhi contesting elections from Rae Bareli. But he is a seasoned player of politics and chess. He makes his moves after careful consideration. The party leadership has taken this decision after a lot of deliberation and strategy," he said.
Ramesh claimed the decision to filed Rahul has devastated the BJP, its supporters and sycophants. "The poor self-proclaimed Chanakya who used to talk about 'traditional seats' is not able to understand what to do now," he said.
The Congress leader said Rae Bareli has not only been Sonia Gandhi's seat but also Indira Gandhi's seat. "This is not a legacy but a responsibility, a duty," he asserted.
