Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Senior Congress leader AK Antony hinted on Wednesday that either former party president Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka would contest from a Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking to the media, Antony, former Union Minister, asserted that a member of the Nehru family will contest from Uttar Pradesh. "You wait for the decision of Amethi and Raebareli," Antony added.
Notably, the Congress party is yet to announce candidates for Amethi and Raebareili. Antony's statement came amid the delay from the Congress in announcing candidates for these two seats, once considered the bastions of the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi, who represented Raebareli in the Lok Sabha since 2004, has moved to the Upper House of Parliament, while her son Rahul Gandhi was defeated in the last general elections by the BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi. As of now, Rahul Gandhi has filed his nomination only from Kerala's Wayanad constituency.
AK Antony on Robert Vadra
When questioned about the possibility of Robert Vadra being a candidate, Antony said that would not be the case. The former Defence Minister further emphasized that secular parties across the nation have "full faith" in the Gandhi family.
Amethi may brace for another interesting contest if Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi is fielded up against Union Minister and BJP MP Smriti Irani from Amethi. In the 2019 general elections, Irani had defeated Rahul in his bastion by 55,120 votes. Irani had lost to Rahul in the 2014 polls, however, she cultivated her popularity on the ground in the next five years, giving a jolt to the Congress with her historic win.
'Candidates for Amethi, Raebareli to be announced at right time'
Amid the suspense over candidates for the Amethi and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pandey on Monday (April 8) said the names would be announced at the "right time". Despite demands from party workers that Rahul Gandhi be fielded from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi from Raebareli, the Congress is yet to announce its candidates for these seats. The party's state unit president Rai has strongly advocated for the candidature of the Gandhi siblings from the seats.
Lok Sabha elections 2024
The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls will kick off on April 19 with the counting of votes set to take place on June 4 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a bid for a third consecutive term in office. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said over 97 crore voters – 49.7 crore males and 47.1 crore females – were eligible to cast their vote in the polling process spread over 44 days and across 10.5 lakh polling booths. The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
(With inputs from PTI)
