The Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting chaired by partychief Mallikarjun Kharge was held on Saturday (April 27) to discuss the remaining seats for Lok Sabha polls. The Congress party has so far announced candidates for 317 Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress was likely to decide on Saturday (today) its candidates for the hotly contested Uttar Pradesh's Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats, however, no discussions were held on the two seats. The polling in both parliamentary seats is scheduled to take place in the fifth phase on May 20.
What happened at CEC meeting?
The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Saturday urged the top party leadership to field Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Amethi and Raebareli, respectively for the Lok Sabha polls, but no decision was taken at the meeting of the central election committee (CEC).
Sources said AICC in-charge of party Affairs in Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pandey and CLP leader in the state Aradhana Mishra urged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi to give tickets to both Rahul and Priyanka from the Uttar Pradesh seats.
During the meeting of the CEC chaired by Kharge, various members of the all-important panel also supported the views of the party leaders from Uttar Pradesh and left the decision on the top leadership, the sources said.
The sources said the decision on whether Rahul Gandhi will contest from Amethi or not will be taken in a day or two.
The Lok Sabha candidates for the remaining five seats in Punjab were also discussed during the meeting of the CEC.
The sources added that another meeting of the CEC is likely on Punjab where a consensus could not be arrived at, though all the seats were discussed.
The party will also soon announce its decision for the Gurugram Lok Sabha seat and the choice has narrowed down to two candidates, according to sources.
Speculations over Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra filing their nominations from Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats respectively are also circulating, sources said. Before filing their nominations, the sources added, the two Congress leaders may also visit Ayodhya and seek Ram Lalla's blessings at the grand Ram Mandir.
Venugopal on CEC meeting
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal left after party's CEC meeting and said that the party will release another list within two days.
Amethi and Raebareli seats in UP
While Rahul Gandhi is already contesting Lok Sabha elections from Kerala's Wayanad seat, he may file nominations from another seat, notably Amethi. Significantly, if he proceeds, it would be his third contest from this seat. Rahul will also face Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Smriti Irani for the third time.
For Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, if she proceeds to file a nomination from Raebareli, it would be her first-ever Lok Sabha election.
It is pertinent to note that both Amethi and Raebareli have remained Congress strongholds until recently when Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in Lok Sabha elections 2019.
Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi by a margin of 55,120 votes in 2019. However, in 2014, the Congress leader claimed victory on this seat against Smriti Irani by a margin of 1,07,903 votes.
Talking about the upcoming election in Raebareli, political analysts believe that it is also going to be an equally challenging contest for any Congress candidate in Raebareli.
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