New Delhi : Suspense over the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats mounted on Tuesday, even as three days remain for the filing of nominations for the two seats considered as traditional pocket boroughs of Gandhi-Nehru family.
Amid speculation that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would be fielded from the two constituencies, the Congress workers in Amethi on Tuesday held a sit-in, demanding that the party names a member of the Gandhi family as its candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. Sources said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is keen to contest from the Rae Bareli seat and her candidature is likely to be announced soon, once the party leadership takes a final call on the seat.
Rahul Gandhi is yet to finalise his candidature on his second seat of Amethi and the leadership is likely to announce his name soon. The state leadership in Uttar Pradesh has already urged the central election committee and the party leadership to field Rahul Gandhi from Amethi and Priyanka from Rae Bareli. The CEC members had also supported the view of the Uttar Pradesh Congress during the last meeting of the CEC on Saturday.
The Amethi seat has been represented by Rahul Gandhi from 2004 and he remained the member of Parliament from the constituency for three consecutive terms till 2019 when he was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani. Rahul Gandhi currently represents the Wayanad constituency in Kerala, from where he had also contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections. The Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024. Prior to that Sonia Gandhi had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics and contested for the first time in 1999.
While only three days are left for the filing of nomination papers, the Congress is yet to declare a candidate for the seat, with leaders and workers, including Congress district president Pradeep Singhal and former district president Yogendra Mishra, gathering at the party office in Amethi with posters reading "Amethi maange Rahul Gandhi" (Amethi wants Rahul Gandhi), "Amethi maange Priyanka Gandhi" (Amethi wants Priyanka Gandhi Vadra).
"People of the constituency and Congress workers want a member of the Gandhi family as their candidate. We want Rahul Gandhi to contest from Amethi to bring back its lost honour," a district Congress leader said. The demonstrators demanded that the Congress immediately declare a candidate in Amethi and that its nominee be from the Gandhi family.
Amid the suspense on who the Congress would field in Amethi, posters supporting Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra's candidature had surfaced in the constituency on April 24. The seat has previously been represented by Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
