Late-night meetings, talks with Akhilesh Yadav: How Cong chose 'safe' seat Rae Bareli for Rahul

Rahul Gandhi lost the elections in Amethi to Smriti Irani in 2019

In the wee hours of Friday, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal declared that Rahul Gandhi would contest the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli while Sonia Gandhi's trusted aide, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi, thus dispelling the suspense surrounding these crucial seats.

Sources say that senior party leaders had to pursue Rahul Gandhi to contest elections from UP. Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav was also contacted at night to know his views about Amethi and Rae Bareli and informed him about the family’s reluctance to contest from UP.

Yadav, sources say, suggested that family members should contest both the seats at Amethi and Rae Bareli as these constituencies were synonymous with Gandhi family.

A senior Congress leader told Moneycontrol that Rahul Gandhi was not interested in contesting elections from Uttar Pradesh at all as he did not want to give a message that he was moving out of Wayanad because of the fear of losing, particularly when there was positive feedback from there.

“In a meeting late last night, Rahul Gandhi clearly refused to contest elections from Amethi. The reason being, that he has painstakingly built the narrative of Modi’s opponent and he cannot dilute it by contesting against Smriti Irani. In such a situation, he was persuaded to go to Rae Bareli citing his heritage and bonding the Gandhi family share with that constituency,” the Congress leader said.

Congress leaders said that even in adverse circumstances, the people of Rae Bareli had not given up on Congress. There is still enthusiasm for the party and the party cannot ignore the people of that region. This is the safest seat in the state for Congress and Rahul agreed to contest from Rae Bareli.

“Even in that meeting Congress leaders told Rahul Gandhi that contesting from Rae Bareli would be a calculated move, with the party deeming it a safer bet compared to Amethi, a constituency he previously represented,” the source said.

The history favours Congress in Rae Bareli as compared with Amethi. Despite the 2019 Modi wave, Sonia Gandhi won the election from there, highlighting the stronghold Congress maintains in the region. With Congress emerging victorious 17 out of 20 times in past elections, experts suggest Rahul stands a better chance in Rae Bareli than in Amethi, hence his nomination from the former.

“It will be after 25 years that no Gandhi will be in the fray from Amethi. We cannot digest the news that neither Rahul or Priyanka would be in the fray from this constituency. This news came as a shocker for us who had made arrangements for a massive nomination procession for Gandhi family members,” said Priyansh Sharma, a local Congress leader.

Sonia Gandhi made her electoral debut from here back in 1999, a year after she took over as Congress president. In 2004, she shifted to Rae Bareli, making way for Rahul to make his electoral debut from the seat. In 2019 Rahul lost the election to Smriti Irani and the family tag of Gandhi family seat.

Another section of Congress leaders says that there was a hesitancy towards fielding all three Gandhi family members in parliament, considering the "dynastic politics" charge that the party is often subjected to by the BJP.

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The dynamics surrounding Rahul Gandhi's decision have sparked various interpretations. While critics allege a fear of defeat in Amethi, others perceive a strategic realignment, prioritizing the stronghold of Rae Bareli.

Vishwanath Chaturvedi Mohan, a Congress leader said that it was good decision in the part of Rahul to contest from Rae Bareli because Gandhis not contesting from any seat of Uttar Pradesh would have sent a bad political message.

“After quitting direct election after Sonia Gandhi was nominated for Rajya Sabha, she wrote a letter to the people of Rae Bareli declaring that her family will take care of this constituency. She kept her promise and Rahul Gandhi has been nominated as the candidate,” Chaturvedi said.

But for many Congress leaders, the decision of Gandhi family members not to contest Amethi has not gone well. “Rahul should have contested from Amethi and our national President Mallikarjun Kharge from Rae Bareli. This would have sent a very positive message. Both the heavyweights would have crushed their opponents. Our Amethi candidate Kishori Lal Sharma is no match to Smriti Irani,” the Congress leader said and added: “The result is clear. We have lost Amethi and won Rae Bareli. It is 1-0”