New Delhi: A day after the Congress announced that Rahul Gandhi will contest from his Wayanad constituency again, the clamour has grown in the party that he should contest from traditional constituency Amethi as well. Top AICC functionaries, state leaders and local workers from the Gandhi family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli recently met both Rahul and Priyanka and urged them to join the fray from Uttar Pradesh.
“A delegation of senior leaders and workers from Uttar Pradesh recently met both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and urged them to contest from Amethi and Rae Bareli parliamentary seats. We assume that the presence of two top leaders as candidates will certainly boost the party’s prospects in the coming national polls,” AICC general secretary in-charge of UP Avinash Pande told ETV Bharat.
“The two leaders gave us a patient hearing, but it is up to them to take a final call on the matter,” he said. According to senior UP Congress leaders Deepak Singh, Rahul and Priyanka fighting the forthcoming elections will help the INDIA bloc.
“If the two top leaders join the contest, a message will go to the voters across the state and will benefit not only the Congress in 17 seats, but also the SP, which will fight the remaining 63 seats,” Deepak Singh told ETV Bharat.
“The response to Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi rally recently was very good. When Kharge had come here he had said that Rahul’s relation with the Amethi voters will remain the same. The workers here are very excited over the chance that Rahul might again contest the seat. I will start touring all the blocks in the constituency area from next week to prepare for the polls,” he said.
Given that UP party workers are very hopeful of Rahul’s candidate from Amethi, a decision on the issue is expected when the Congress Central Election Committee meets again on March 11 to decide the Lok Sabha candidates.
“Expect some big news on March 11,” said Singh. The CEC cleared Rahul’s name for Wayanad on March 7. According to party insiders, there was a spiritual reason why the announcement was made on March 8 when people celebrated Maha Shivaratri across the country.
“Rahul Gandhi is a devotee of Lord Shiva and has been to His abode Mount Kailash. Soon after his name from Wayanad was sent to the CEC by the Kerala Screening Committee on March 5, the former party chief offered prayers at the Lord Shiva temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh as his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra was in the religious town on that day. Later, Maha Shivratri was chosen to announce his candidature for the same reason,” a senior AICC functionary said.
According to former UP MLC Deepak Singh, there is an astrological connection to Rahul’s Amethi candidature. “An astrologer had told me once that Amethi has a connection with number 21. When former PM Rajiv Gandhi died in 1991, the date was May 21 and Rahul Gandhi was 21 years old. Congress has lost Amethi polls after every 21 years. Also, 21 years before 2019, when Rahul Gandhi lost in Amethi, party candidate Satish Sharma had lost the polls in 1998. Now the situation is favourable, the party will not lose the Lok Sabha seat and Rahul will surely win,” Singh said.
Read more: All Eyes On Amethi After Congress Fields Rahul From Wayanad Again
