Rahul Gandhi retains Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, Priyanka Gandhi to contest in Wayanad

Rahul Gandhi has retained the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, while the vacated Wayanad seat will be taken up by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Rahul Gandhi has retained the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, while the vacated Wayanad seat will be taken up by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, announced Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on June 17.

On Priyanka Gandhi contesting the Wayanad seat, Rahul Gandhi stated, "You are now going to have two MPs, I will keep visiting. She is going to be a very good representative of people of Wayanad. People of Wayanad gave me support, energy to fight at very difficult time: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on vacating LS seat".

"I have an old relationship with Rae Bareli and I am very happy that I will be representing it. This was not an easy decision, because affection is with both Wayanad and Rae Bareli," he also noted.

Commenting after Kharge's announcement, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel Rahul Gandhi's absence. I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative".

"I have a very old relationship with Rae Bareli and Amethi and it cannot be broken. I will also help my brother in Rae Bareli. We will both be present in Rae Bareli and Wayanad," she further noted.

UP Congress chief Ajay Rai, commenting on the situation, stated, "Sonia Gandhi had earlier said that the Rae Bareli seat belongs to their family and she has given her son (Rahul Gandhi) to them. People of Rae Bareli and Uttar Pradesh are with us, and this has instilled new energy among us".

Party leader Gaurav Gogoi, expressing his delight, stated, "The voice of the people will resonate much louder with both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's presence in Parliament".

Rahul Gandhi had won from both constituencies in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

In Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi defeated CPI leader Annie Raja by over 3.6 lakh votes. Meanwhile, in Rae Bareli, he defeated BJP leader Dinesh Pratap Singh by a huge margin of 3.9 lakh votes.

According to reports, Gandhi's office last week approached the Table Branch of Lok Sabha to enquire about the process for his resignation. According to the guidelines, an individual can contest polls from two seats but cannot retain both. If a candidate gets elected from two Lok Sabha seats, they are required to resign from one of them within 14 days of the declaration of the result. Failure to do so results in both seats falling vacant.

The Lok Sabha election results were announced on June 4. Hence, Gandhi had to take a decision by June 18.

Recently, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Chief K Sudhakaran dropped a hint that Wayanad may go vacant.

"We should not be saddened as Rahul Gandhi, who is supposed to lead the nation, cannot be expected to remain in Wayanad. Therefore, we should not be sad. Everyone should understand that and give all their wishes and support to him,” he said during a public meeting.

Gandhi had earlier said that the decision had been a dilemma. "I can't stay in two seats, but I haven't decided which one I will give up on," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had faced a similar situation after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He had won from both Vadodara (Gujarat) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). He eventually decided to represent Varanasi in Parliament.

In 2019, Gandhi lost from Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. Since he also contested from Wayanad, he was able to ensure his stay in the lower house.

With agency inputs