Posters have come up in Rae Bareli urging Priyanka Gandhi to contest from the constituency, which is the last remaining Congress bastion in Uttar Pradesh.
“Congress ke vikas karya ko aage badhaye, Rae Bareli pukarti, Priyanka Gandhi aaye” [Take Congress’s development works forward, Rae Bareli is calling, Priyanka Gandhi please come] read one of the banners spotted in the constituency.
The demand comes after former Congress president Sonia Gandhi decided to opt out of the upcoming Lok Sabha race from Rae Bareli and made her debut in the Rajya Sabha after winning unopposed from Rajasthan.
Even before Sonia’s announcement, there was a growing clamour for Priyanka Gandhi to contest from the seat, which holds high prestige value for Congress.
Rae Bareli has been a traditional Congress seat in Uttar Pradesh for decades. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi represented the seat multiple times during her career.
In 1999, Sonia Gandhi entered the lower house for the first time after winning the general election from Rae Bareli. She went on to represent the constituency for the next two-and-a-half decades, winning the electoral contest as many as five times.
Will Priyanka Gandhi take the poll plunge?
There has been a strong buzz that Congress may field Priyanka Gandhi for the upcoming elections, especially after she was relieved of her duties as Uttar Pradesh in-charge in the recent party reshufle.
In 2019 too, there was speculation that Congress may field Priyanka Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi. However, the party decided to field Ajay Rai instead.
Priyanka Gandhi is seen as a natural successor to Sonia Gandhi from the Congress’s family turf.
Moreover, it is critical for the Congress to field a strong candidate from the seat, especially after losing its other traditional bastion of Amethi. In 2019, BJP’s Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, a seat Congress had held for decades.
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