Congress leader Rahul Gandhi officially informed the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office on Tuesday that he will retain the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat and vacate the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. Sources confirmed that the Congress leader submitted this decision in writing to the Lok Sabha Speaker.
On Monday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature for Wayanad during a special press conference. Should Priyanka Gandhi win, all three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be represented in Parliament: Sonia Gandhi in the Rajya Sabha, and Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
Priyanka Gandhi stated on Monday that while she will contest the bypoll from Wayanad, her long-standing ties with Amethi and Raebareli will remain strong.
Rahul Gandhi had won both seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections by a margin of over three lakh votes. However, rules permit a candidate to hold only one seat, and this decision must be made within 14 days of being elected as an MP. Tuesday (18 June) was Rahul Gandhi’s deadline to decide.
If Wayanad elects Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, it will mark the first time all three Gandhi family members will be in Parliament. Sonia Gandhi, who did not contest the Lok Sabha elections this time, has moved to the Rajya Sabha. Her son, Rahul, contested from her Rae Bareli seat.
It was anticipated that Rahul Gandhi would relinquish the Wayanad seat to keep Rae Bareli. This speculation was widespread after he won both seats in the 18th Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi won the Wayanad seat by a margin of 3.6 lakh votes against the Communist Party of India’s (CPI) Annie Raja. In Rae Bareli, a Congress stronghold, he secured 647,445 votes, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh by over 3.9 lakh votes.
While Wayanad is considered a safe seat for Congress, the Gandhi family has deep roots in Rae Bareli. Rae Bareli and Amethi are the family’s traditional strongholds in Uttar Pradesh. According to The Hindu, the Congress party has won Rae Bareli 18 times since the first general elections. Rahul’s grandfather, the late Feroze Gandhi, was the first to represent it, followed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who held the seat thrice.
Rahul Gandhi’s decision to retain Rae Bareli is also influenced by the Congress’s improved performance in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha. The party won six seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls. Its INDIA ally in UP, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP), secured 37 seats, and the Opposition alliance’s tally reached 43, reducing BJP’s seats to 33 from 62 in 2019.
Fielding Priyanka in Wayanad also deflects criticism that the family is abandoning the South despite previous electoral success. Rahul Gandhi has promised to visit Wayanad and fulfill his promises, stating, “I am confident she (Priyanka) will win the election and she will be a very good representative. The people of Wayanad now have two MPs, one is my sister and the other is me.”
Having Priyanka in the Lok Sabha gives Congress an added advantage with an articulate speaker. This move sends a strong political message, aiming to charge the Opposition with both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on the benches, making strategic use of the period until the 2029 election, especially with Narendra Modi seen as vulnerable in a coalition government.
