Will Amethi, Rae Bareli suspense end today? Congress likely to announce decision on Rahul and Priyanka’s candidature

The suspense over candidatures of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi from the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies in Uttar Pradesh is likely to end today, May 2. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Wednesday the decision would be announced in the next 24-40 hours. 

Amethi and Raebareli will go to the polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on May 20. The last day for filing nominations for the seats in the fifth phase is May 3, but Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address a poll rally in Pune tomorrow. 

Sources said Rahul and Priyanka are unwilling to contest the Lok Sabha elections either from Amethi or Rae Bareli. However, efforts are still on to convince at least one of the Gandhi siblings to fight general elections from two seats in Uttar Pradesh. 

Some media reports suggested that the absence of Nehru-Gandhi family members in the Uttar Pradesh elections as contestants would send a negative political message to people across the nation. 

Within the Congress, there is also a belief that if Rahul Gandhi wins in both Wayanad and Amethi, he would have to give up one of the seats, which might annoy the electorate.

Amethi-Rae Bareli seats

The Congress has always won Rae Bareli and Amethi from 1999 to 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi to Union Minister Smriti Irani in 2019. On the other hand, Sonia Gandhi has chosen not to run for Lok Sabha in 2024, despite her consistent victories from Rae Bareli. 

However, Rahul Gandhi has already contested the Lok Sabha 2024 from Wayanad, a seat he had easily won in 2019. On April 26, polling was held in Wayanad.

The Congress is contesting Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. The Congress has been allocated 17 of the 80 seats from UP. Samajwadi Party, the leading partner of the INDIA bloc, and other allies will contest the other seats.

The last phase of the Lok Sabha Election will be held on June 1. The counting will take place on June 4.