- By Vivek Raj
- Sat, 27 Apr 2024 12:48 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Lok Sabha Election 2024: Speculation mounts as the Congress party's Central Election Committee, led by President Mallikarjun Kharge, reportedly prepares to meet on Saturday evening to discuss candidate selections for crucial constituencies, including Gandhi family bastion Amethi, Rae Bareli, and remaining seats in Punjab. The Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies, previously held by Rahul Gandhi and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, respectively, have garnered significant attention. With Rahul's recent contest from Wayanad concluding, party insiders anticipate detailed discussions on his potential candidacy from either Amethi or Rae Bareli.
Reacting to the queries on hot seats Amethi and Rae Bareli, Congress president Kharge said, "You have to wait for a few more days... when the names of candidates come from people to me and I sign the notification, it will be announced."
Whenever asked to Rahul Gandhi regarding Amethi's seat candidacy, he has consistently maintained that he would follow the party's directives. Amid this, a section of Congress leaders reportedly suggests he might contest from one of the traditional Gandhi family strongholds.
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Rae Bareli, vacated by Sonia Gandhi following her shift to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, is speculated to be a potential constituency for Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Local Congress leaders anticipate Priyanka's nomination from Rae Bareli.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already announced Smriti Irani as its candidate for Amethi, where she defeated Rahul in the 2019 elections.
Rahul's candidacy from the Kerala constituency of Wayanad in 2019 purportedly bolstered Congress's electoral prospects, contributing to the United Democratic Front's (UDF) success in securing 19 out of 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The party is wary of altering this dynamic by potentially shifting Rahul's candidacy to Amethi.
Meanwhile, posters advocating for Robert Vadra, Rahul's brother-in-law, to contest from Amethi have also emerged, adding another layer of speculation to the electoral scenario.
Amethi is set to go for polls on the third phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections on May 7, while voting for the Rae Bareli seat is scheduled for May 25, in the fifth phase of polling.
Since 1980, with the exception of 1998, the Gandhi family or their nominees have emerged victorious in 11 elections in Amethi. Notably, their familial ties extend to Rae Bareli as well. Feroze Gandhi, the husband of Indira Gandhi, contested the initial election in 1952 and again in 1957.
Although the Congress party secured victories in the 1960 and 1962 elections, they were not specifically attributed to the Gandhi family. However, with few exceptions such as 1977, 1996, and 1998, subsequent elections have seen consistent success for the Congress, often through candidates associated with the family or closely connected individuals like Arun Nehru, Sheila Kaul, and Satish Sharma. Sonia Gandhi also clinched her inaugural election victory from this constituency in 2004.
