Congress’ Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai said candidates for Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh will be declared after Holi. “After Holi, the names of the candidates for the remaining eight seats of Uttar Pradesh, including Amethi and Raebareli, will be declared,” Rai told news agency PTI.
The Congress has so far released candidates for 183 seats, including nine in Uttar Pradesh.
He said Congress workers have been constantly pressing on the party leadership to field former party president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi from Raebareli. His statement came as the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 are around the corner.
“Though we are confident, one thing is certain that at least one of the two will contest the election on one of these two seats,” Rai told news agency PTI on Sunday.
Rai’s remarks came a day after the Congress released the fourth list of nine candidates from Uttar Pradesh. The list didn’t mention the names of candidates for the Amethi and Raebareli seats. These two seats were once bastions of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Union minister Smriti Irani from Amethi. She had defeated Rahul Gandhi from this seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi Gandhi had been an MP from Rae Bareli since 2004. He had announced earlier this year that she’ll be not contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Ever since the announcement, speculations have been rife that her daughter Priyanka Gandhi may contest the Rae Bareli seat. Her posters were also seen in the constituency recently.
Amid the rumours, Ajay Rai said it is the heartfelt desire of the party leaders and workers that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi should contest elections from Amethi and Raebareli respectively.
“However, the final decision on this matter has to be taken by the party leadership,” he told PTI. Rai has been given a ticket from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He added that if the Congress has not yet declared the candidates for these two seats, “it means that the demand of the party workers is being considered.”
The Congress is contesting on 17 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The remaining will be contested by the Samajwadi Party.
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Published: 24 Mar 2024, 07:41 PM IST
