New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi may contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi after polling concludes in Kerala’s Wayanad on Friday.
Besides, Congress may field his sister Priyanka Gandhi from Rae Bareli, the seat vacated by their mother Sonia Gandhi earlier this year after she entered the Rajya Sabha. The final announcement will come after April 26 and nominations are likely to be filed next week, sources said.
Notably, Rahul is contesting from Wayanad, which will go to polls in the second phase on Friday. He won the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Back home in Amethi, he was defeated by BJP’s Smriti Irani. Former MLC and Congress leader Deepak Singh told ANI that Rahul will come to Amethi on April 26.
“…all of us believe that Rahul Gandhi will come at a ‘shubh muhurat’, he will come on time. This time, he will win in Amethi, become an MP and the Prime Minister of India. He will make the record of winning from Amethi with the highest number of votes,” he said.
While the last-minute suspense regarding the Gandhi siblings is still on, rumours remain rife about Robert Vadra, Priyanka Gandhi’s husband, contesting from Amethi, in case Rahul decides to stick with just Wayanad. Vadra has also claimed that people within the party want him to fight from Amethi.
However, if Rahul Gandhi is indeed fielded in Amethi, it will be a high-stakes battle, considering that Smriti Irani defeated him by 55,120 votes in the 2019 elections.
As for Priyanka, Congress has been wanting her to enter the poll fray since February this year when Sonia decided to bring curtains down on her Lok Sabha stint. In 2019 too, there were strong rumours that Congress may field Priyanka against PM Modi from Varanasi. However, the grand old party opted to go with Ajay Rai.