Putting an end towards speculations on her entry into electoral politics, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has finally reportedly getting ready to contest from Wayanad bypoll to the Lok Sabha, soon after her brother Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat
Rahul Gandhi, who had won the Lok Sabha polls – with considerable margins – from both the Raebareli and Wayanad constituencies, also fanned the flames of a possible debut by his sister when he said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have lost “by two-three lakh votes” if his sister had fought against him in Varanasi.
Though party leaders in Kerala insisting Rahul to retain his Wayanad seat which come to his rescue when he was defeated by Smriti Irani in Amethi in 2019, due to the prominence of Uttar Pradesh in the national politics, he said to be advised by party senior leaders to keep his Raebareli seat.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) has recommended that Gandhi retain his Raebareli MP status, citing his crucial role in the party’s development efforts in Uttar Pradesh.While the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) initially advocated for Gandhi to remain in Wayanad, they did not press the matter further after the UPCC’s recommendation.
Speculation over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s electoral debut had reached a crescendo ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, only to be completely deflated when she decided against contesting. Since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls her contesting in polls speculations were spreading.
In 2019 Lok Sabha polls it had been speculated that she could challenge Prime MInister Narendra Modi in the Varanasi constituency at a time when the Congress was struggling to halt the BJP juggernaut. After that didn’t happen, Ms Gandhi herself had said she wasn’t ruling out contesting the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2022, when she was the Congress General Secretary for the state.
She had, in fact, hinted that she could be the chief ministerial candidate, only to say hours later that she had meant it in a tongue-in-cheek way. Ahead of the 2024 elections, Sonia Gandhi gave up the Raebareli seat – which she had held since 2004 – and became a Rajya Sabha MP.
This time, it was being reported that Priyanka Gandhi would contest from Raebareli and her brother would fight to win back Amethi from the BJP’s Smriti Irani. Sources had said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had asked the Gandhi siblings to take a decision, but had let it be known that he would like both to contest.
He had also said that if they didn’t fight from the bastions, it would send a wrong message to the workers, the Congress’ allies in the Opposition, and the NDA.