Rahul Gandhi To Retain Raebareli, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra To Make Poll Debut From Wayanad

Ending weeks of suspense after the Lok Sabha election, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday announced that he would retain family bastion Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat for his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to make her poll debut from the seat in Kerala.

The former Congress chief won both Raebareli and Wayanad by a margin of over 3 lakh votes. Meanwhile, Priyanka campaigned extensively in Raebareli and Amethi during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Thanking the people of Wayanad for their love and support, Rahul said that Priyanka Gandhi will fight the elections from the seat, however, he will periodically visit the constituency.

“I have an emotional connection with Waynand and Raebareli. I was an MP from Wayanad for the last 5 years. I thank the people for their love and support. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will fight from elections from Wayanad but I will also periodically visit Wayanad,” Rahul Gandhi said while speaking to reporters.

“I have an old relationship with Raebareli, I am happy that I will get to represent them again but it was a tough decision,” he added.

‘Will Not Let Them Feel Rahul’s Absence’: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is set to make her poll debut from Wayanad, assured the people of the constituency that she will try her best to be a good representative and will make sure that she will not let them feel the absence of Rahul Gandhi.

“I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel his (Rahul Gandhi’s) absence. I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative,” Priyanka said.

“I have a very old relationship with Raebareli and Amethi and it cannot be broken. I will also help my brother in Raebareli. We will both be present in Raebareli and Wayanad,” she added.

Rahul Gandhi’s Double Victory

Rahul Gandhi won Raebareli by defeating BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,90,030 votes. Meanwhile, the Congress scion also retained the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 3,64,422 votes over his nearest rival, Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Annie Raja.

The Raebareli seat was earlier held by Sonia Gandhi since 2004 until she moved to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year. The Gandhi family bastion was earlier represented by Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother and former PM Indira Gandhi and her husband Feroze Gandhi.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi fought from Amethi and Wayanad and ended up losing the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh to BJP candidate Smriti Irani. However, the Congress regained its bastion as KL Sharma defeated Irani in this election.

BJP Hits Back

BJP leader K Surendran, who contested against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, reacted on the Congress scion’s decision to vacate the constituency in Kerala and said that the “BJP’s prediction came true”. 

Stating Rahul’s decision to leave Wayanad, Surendran said that the honest and lovable people of Kerala deserve better than to be exploited and abandoned.