Why Congress Chose Rae Bareli for Rahul Gandhi’s Candidacy
Rahul Gandhi’s grandfather, Feroze Gandhi, grandmother Indira Gandhi, and Mother Sonia Gandhi have represented Rae Bareli in Parliament
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather Feroze Gandhi, grandmother Indira Gandhi, and Mother Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be the third generation of the Gandhis to contest from Rae Bareli, which is considered the last bastion of the family.
On the last day of the nomination, the Congress announced Rahul Gandhi’s candidature for Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi, who also contested from Kerala’s Wayanad, lost the Amethi seat to Union minister Smriti Irani in 2019. The Congress has named Kishori Lal Sharma as its candidate from Amethi this time.
Why is Rahul Gandhi contesting from Rae Bareli?
The Gandhis have represented Rae Bareli since 1952. Feroze Gandhi won the seat in 1952 and 1957. Indira Gandhi was the Rae Bareli Member of Parliament (MP) between 1967 and 1977. She returned to Parliament in 1980 after losing the 1977 election post-Emergency to Raj Narain. Indira Gandhi wrested Rae Bareli in 1980 but retained her other seat, Medak, in undivided Andhra Pradesh. From 2004, Sonia Gandhi remained the Rae Bareli MP. Close relatives Arun Nehru and Shiela Kaul have also represented this seat.
Congress strategists are believed to have advised Rahul Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli, the seat synonymous with the Gandhi family, and let Priyanka Gandhi Vadra take on Union minister Smriti Irani in Amethi.
Priyanka Gandhi, multiple leaders said, opted out of the polls citing her commitment to campaign for the party across the country. She has taken over this wider role for the first time.
Safest seat for the Gandhis
Rae Bareli is a safer seat compared to other family pocket borough of Amethi. Amethi for Rahul Gandhi would have meant another tough contest. In the 2019 election, when Congress got wiped out from other seats in Uttar Pradesh, Sonia Gandhi managed to get 55.8% of the votes in Rae Bareli.
The north-south balance
It is essential for the Congress to have a top leader represent north India after Sonia Gandhi moved to Rajya Sabha. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge (Karnataka), general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal (Kerala), and chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh (Karnataka) are from the South. It was politically prudent to field its top leader from north India.
The Congress has fared better in southern India. In north Indian states, particularly the six states where it is in direct contest with the BJP, the party needs to improve its tally if it wants to reclaim power. In the run-up to the election, the Congress won two south Indian states—Karnataka and Telangana—but lost power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In northern India, the Congress in power only Himachal Pradesh and is a part of the ruling coalition in Jharkhand.
The importance of Kishori Lal Sharma
After Priyanka Gandhi opted out of the polls, the party was looking for a suitable candidate for Amethi. For decades, Sharma managed Amethi and Rae Bareli seats for the Gandhis. “He runs the show in this part of Uttar Pradesh,” said a Congress leader.
At one point, the party was considering former MP Shiela Kaul’s grandson as a possible candidate from Amethi. But it decided to reward Sharma, a family loyalist, with a ticket. Sharma was nominated against Irani even as the party workers expected either Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi to contest.
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