Lok Sabha Elections 2024: As speculations are rife that Congress may field party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat, the party's Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has constituted a 'Special 24' team in the district for the election management.
According to Amar Ujala's report, the 24-member committee comprises representatives from each assembly constituency, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, the All India Congress Committee, the District Congress Committee, and senior Congress leaders. Additionally, there will be a backup team featuring five prominent Congress figures. Notably, Sunil Kanugolu, alongside the IT war room, will serve as the strategist for electoral calculations in Raebareli.
The decision on who will contest from Raebareli rests with Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge. The party entrusted him with the authority to finalise the ticket during the Congress Central Core Committee meeting on Saturday night. The excitement surrounding "Mission Raebareli" has intensified in the past two days, with both the Delhi Core Committee and the District Congress Committee actively engaged. All eyes are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the ticket from Rae Bareli. While Priyanka Gandhi's name is rumoured to be final, those responsible for the decision are maintaining silence for now.
Congress' 'Special 24' team for Raebareli
Sonia Gandhi has formed a 'Special-24' coordination committee for the Raebareli election. Along with Sonia Gandhi, the committee includes her representative K L Sharma, Congress district president Pankaj Tiwari, Congress city president Dheeraj Srivastava, Raebareli assembly constituency candidate Sushil Pasi, former MLA from Harjandpur Surendra Vikram Singh, former contestant from Sadar seat Dr Manish Singh Chauhan, assembly candidate from Serene Sudha Dwivedi, candidate from Unchahar Atul Singh, assembly candidate from Bachhrawan Sahabsharan Paswan, Raebareli Nagar Palika Chairman Shatrohan Sonkar, Lal Ganj Nagar Panchayat Chairman Sarita Gupta, former Nagar Palika Chairman from Raebareli M Elias, former AIIC member Kalyan Singh Gandhi, and senior Congress leader from DDC VK Shukla.
According to party sources, general secretaries K C Venugopal, DK Shivkumar, Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pandey, and Pradesh Congress secretary Aradhana Mishra will play an important role in the election as strategists.
Sunil Kanugolu conducted survey
Sunil Kanugolu, a renowned poll strategist, stands as one of the key architects of the Congress party's electoral strategies. His expertise was instrumental in securing significant victories for the Congress during the Telangana elections. Now, in the Raebareli elections, Kanugolu's expertise is expected to be instrumental once again. His initial survey for Raebareli played a key part in building momentum around Priyanka Gandhi's candidacy. Even during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Kanugolu's team conducted surveys and made inroads into Raebareli, further solidifying his strategic influence in the region.
On Saturday, discussions were rife in the political circles of Raebareli following Kharge's mention of a potential surprise. Speculations arose, with some suggesting the likelihood of Varun Gandhi contesting from Amethi and Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli. However, Congress officials swiftly dismissed these possibilities.
Congress preparing for big win
The Congress party is geared up and fully prepared for the upcoming elections in Rae Bareli. Anticipating a significant margin of victory, the party has issued guidelines to all. Every aspect, from booth management to ward-level strategies, is being meticulously planned and executed alongside the campaign efforts. - Vinay Dwivedi, Media Incharge Congress
Raebareli Lok Sabha constituency
Raebareli is one of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. The state has 80 parliamentary seats. The Rae Bareli seat comprises 5 Assembly segments including Bachhrawan, Harchandpur, Raebareli, Sareni, Unchahar. The constituency is a general seat. The Congress and the BJP are the main parties in the constituency.
It is pertinent to mention that Raebareli is considered to be a Congress family bastion. It was represented by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi before she moved to Rajya Sabah this year, and earlier by her mother-in-law and former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi has never lost from Raebareli since 2004 and was the lone winner for her party in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Sonia Gandhi from Congress won the seat with a margin of 167,178 votes. Sonia Gandhi was polled 534,918 votes with a vote share of 56.00 per cent and defeated Dinesh Pratap Singh from BJP who got 367,740 votes (38.35 per cent). Similarty, in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Sonia Gandhi from Congress won the seat and was polled 526,434 votes with a vote share of 63.80 per cent. BJP candidate Ajay Agrawal got 173,721 votes (21.05 per cent) and was the runner-up. Sonia Gandhi defeated Ajay Agrawal by a margin of 352,713 votes.
Also Read: Congress holds CEC meeting, no decision on Amethi, Raebareli seats yet: Sources
