Sonia’s RS shift fuels Priyanka-from-Rae Bareli demand

Rae Bareli is the only constituency Congress won in 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Updated on: Feb 15, 2024, 09:24:06 IST

By Umesh Raghuvanshi, Lucknow

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After Congress chief and Rae Bareli MP Sonia Gandhi’s move to shift to Rajya Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to be the ideal replacement in a constituency that has been a Congress bastion.

Rae Bareli is the only constituency Congress won in 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

There is however no official word yet on the issue as senior party leaders have remained tightlipped on the issue. They however concede that there is growing demand for either Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli. “Rae Bareli is the Gandhi family’s seat. It will remain with the family,” said Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Rai.

Like Rae Bareli, Amethi too was a Congress bastion until Union minister Smriti Irani won the Lok Sabha seat after defeating Rahul Gandhi in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Rahul, however, won from the other constituency Wayanad in Kerala and from where he is a Lok Sabha MP.

“There is a demand for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Ji to contest from Rae Bareli. People also want Rahul Gandhi Ji to contest from there or Amethi. It is for them (Gandhi family) to decide,” said Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha representative KL Sharma.

District Congress Committee Rae Bareli president Pankaj Tiwari said, “We have a mixed emotional feeling knowing that Sonia Gandhi has decided to take the Rajya Sabha route. We are happy for her. At the same time, we feel sad she will no longer be the Rae Bareli MP.”

He said, “The people of Rae Bareli want a Gandhi family member, be it Rahul or Priyanka, to represent them on the seat.”

Former MLC Deepak Singh was confident of Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Rae Bareli. “This is what the people of Rae Bareli want. In Amethi, people want Rahul Gandhi to contest,” he said.

“Rae Bareli is the traditional seat of the Congress. Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi represented this seat in Lok Sabha. The Congress should not leave this seat. As there is no other local candidate of this stature Priyanka Gandhi will be a good choice,” said professor SK Dwivedi, former head of department, Lucknow University.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Umesh Raghuvanshi
Umesh Raghuvanshi is an award-winning journalist with nearly four decades of demonstrated experience in the profession. He is the author of Ayodhya: The Gods Are Liberated. He is skilled in storytelling and newswriting, and writes on politics, governance, legislature, finance, environment, and social issues. He is based in Lucknow, is well-travelled, and has covered several national and international events, as well as all assembly and parliament elections in Uttar Pradesh since 1984. He has been a visiting scholar at the Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and a Metcalf Fellow at the Metcalf Institute of Marine and Environmental Reporting, University of Rhode Island, USA. He is a science graduate from DBS College, Dehradun, and holds an MA in Political Science from DAV (PG) College, Dehradun. He won the KC Kulish International Merit Award for excellence in journalism (2015) and received it in New Delhi in 2017. He also won a competition organised by the United Nations Environment Programme DTIE OzonAction Programme in 2009 that assessed coverage of the interlinkages between ozone and climate change. He was awarded in Beijing, China, in 2010. He started his career with a Dehradun-based English daily in the early 1980s and later worked with The Pioneer too.Read More