Rahul Gandhi to contest Lok Sabha polls from Rae Bareli, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi
After weeks of deliberations and talks, the Congress on Friday named Rahul Gandhi as its candidate from the traditional Gandhi family seat of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
Announcing the decision, the Congress also fielded Kishori Lal Sharma, the influential representative of the Nehru-Gandhi family for over two decades, from Amethi.
This comes after Rahul is said to have had a discussion with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. They were together in Karnataka to address a campaign rally. Some leaders had claimed that with Priyanka Gandhi being reluctant to contest the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul had agreed to contest and may enter the fray from Rae Bareli, the seat represented by his mother Sonia Gandhi since 2004.
Rahul Gandhi is also seeking re-election from Wayanad in Kerala.
Since Independence, the Congress has lost Amethi and Rae Bareli only thrice. The party tasted defeat for the first time in Rae Bareli in 1977 when Indira Gandhi famously lost to Raj Narain in the elections post Emergency. The party lost the seat again in 1996 and in 1998 but has not been defeated there since then. Similarly, the Congress was defeated in Amethi in 1977, 1998 and 2019.
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