After weeks of speculation, making it slowly a top-discussed motion in the political fraternity amid the Lok Sabha polls, Congress announced Rahul Gandhi as its candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli parliamentary constituency on Friday. Gandhi filed his papers from Raebareli barely an hour before nominations closed for the Lok Sabha seat. Rahul is also contesting from Kerala's Wayanad, from where he is the sitting MP.

The announcement also came as a surprise because it was expected that Rahul would contest from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani. Soon after the announcement that Rahul will contest from Raebareli, Smriti Irani said that Congress has conceded defeat from the constituency even before a vote was cast, adding that the opposition party would not have fielded a "proxy candidate" (Kishori Lal Sharma) if they were hopeful about the outcome of the polls.

"I welcome the guests to Amethi. The fact that the Gandhis are not fighting in Amethi shows that even before a vote has been cast, they are losing from Amethi. If they had seen even a glimmer of hope, they would have contested and not put up a proxy candidate," Smriti Irani told reporters in Amethi.

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Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress Leader Priyanka Gandhi, files his nomination from the Raebareli seat. (Image Credits: Pallav Paliwal)

Raebareli: A Stronghold Of Gandhi Family

Raebareli is a stronghold of the Gandhi family, which has been represented by Sonia Gandhi since 2004 in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Earlier, there was speculation that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would contest from either Amethi or Raebareli, two seats in Uttar Pradesh, which are prestige battles for the party. Before Sonia, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had won Raebareli three times, and Indira's husband and Congress leader, Feroze Gandhi, twice in 1952 and 1957. One of the important reasons for Congress fielding Rahul from Raebareli as it considers the seat safe to gain a good electoral advantage.

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Secondly, the party's aim to field Rahul is intended to keep its presence in northern India, as most of its key leaders hail from southern states. Fielding Rahul from Uttar Pradesh will help balance Congess's leadership demographics in Northern India.

Congress' Mission To Make Amethi Not Rahul vs Smriti 

One of the other reasons why Congress didn't field Rahul from Amethi is because it considers former party chief Rahul a bigger leader compared to Smriti Irani. In a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has called him an experienced player of politics and chess. He also added that the identity of Smriti Irani was that she contested elections from Amethi against Rahul Gandhi. Jairam claimed that now the political relevance of Smriti Irani is over. He further added that Irani will now have to answer questions about local development: closed hospitals, steel plants, and IIITs.

In the end, Jairam has also added that there are a few chess moves left to play and that this is a long election.

The Uttar Pradesh Factor

Congress is now aiming to tighten its grip on northern India and that significantly will only matter if it has a stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, considering the large amount of parliamentary constituencies that it holds. According to several media reports, Rahul was told that there should not be a perception that the north doesn't matter for the Congress. So, it was Rahul Gandhi who has been fielded, as he is one of the top brass leaders of the party and nationally both.

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But What About Priyanka Gandhi?

Earlier, murmurs could be heard about Priyanka contesting from Rae Bareli, but as the day came closer, it was told that she was focusing on pan-India-level campaigning for the party. However, if Rahul Gandhi wins both Lok Sabha seats, Wayanad and Raebareli, he could only keep one. And the story is all set to begin then. This is seemingly not the end of the stories of one of the most talked-about parliamentary constituencies, Raebareli.