Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad rival Annie Raja on Friday said the Congress should have informed the people of Wayanad that Rahul Gandhi was considering Raebareli as a second seat. Even if the decision was made at the last moment, the party should have told the people about a possibility, the CPM candidate said questioning the injustice that would be meted out to the people of the constituency which Rahul Gandhi would resign if he won both Wayanad and Raebareli. “It poses a question in their morality,” Annie Raja said.
“I am very sure that it is not a certain decision. Even if they had not taken the final call, they should have informed the people of Wayanad that Raebareli was also in consideration. Suppose he wins from both the seats, he will have to resign from one. It will be an injustice to the people. And they have always taken Wayanad for granted,” Annie Raja said.
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Wayanad elected Rahul Gandhi as its representative in 2019 when Rahul Gandhi lost his Amethi seat to Smriti Irani. As Rahul Gandhi campaigned in Kerala before Wayanad went to the polls on April 26, speculations were rife that Rahul Gandhi would also contest from a second seat in Uttar Pradesh. On the last day for filing nominations, it was announced that Rahul Gandhi would contest from Raebareli which Sonia Gandhi vacated as she shifted to the Rajya Sabha citing ill health. Rahul Gandhi’s contest in Raebareli will be against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh who lost the seat in 2019 to Sonia Gandhi. Seen as a safe seat, Raebareli can make Rahul Gandhi again an Uttar Pradesh MP but in that case he would have to resign from Wayanad if he wins the Kerala constituency for a second time.
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On a choice between Raebareli and Wayanad, chances are that the Gandhi family would like to keep the family bastion Raebareli with it. Congress leader Manickam Tagore said the party would take this decision later. “Let the election be over first, then the party will decide. Rahul Gandhi will win both seats and we all know that in Wayanad people have great love & affection for him. In Raebareli also, we all know that the family represented it. Be it Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi. We will win both seats with a huge margin,” Tagore said.
BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Rahul Gandhi would lose Wayanad and that is why he is going to contest from Raebareli.
“Wayanad, are you feeling cheated? Don’t worry, the Gandhi family has been cheating India for over seven decades now. Rahul Gandhi’s volte face should serve as a reminder to states like Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra and Maharashtra, where the Congress is still seeking relevance. They will DUMP you, to suit their convenience,” BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya wrote on X.
