 "rahul gandhi,smriti irani")
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi constituency, triggering a high-voltage face-off with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Smriti Irani. Gandhi lost the battle against Irani in 2019. The news was shared on Wednesday by UP Congress District President Pradeep Singhal, who returned after a meeting in Delhi and said the announcement would be made soon.
Several media reports also hinted that it is nearly confirmed that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will attempt to further her family's legacy by contesting from UP's Raebareli seat, considered a Congress bastion in the Hindi belt. Notably, this will mark Priyanka's electoral debut. The BJP is yet to announce its candidate for the seat.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the first meeting on finalising the candidates will be held on March 7. "The first meeting of the Indian National Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) that considers and decides on candidates for Lok Sabha polls is being held at 6pm on March 7," the Congress leader said in a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the first meeting on finalising the candidates will be held on March 7. "The first meeting of the Indian National Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) that considers and decides on candidates for Lok Sabha polls is being held at 6pm on March 7," the Congress leader said in a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Importance of Amethi, Raebareli seats
Both seats are seen as Congress strongholds. Rahul Gandhi, a former Congress president, represented Amethi in Parliament from 2002 till 2019. However, he lost to Irani in 2019 by a margin of over 55,000 votes. The two senior leaders had also fought against each other from Amethi in 2014, when Gandhi defeated Irani by nearly 100,000 votes. At present, Gandhi is an MP from Kerala's Wayanad.
The Raebareli seat has been won by the Congress in all Lok Sabha polls except three times. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Congress leader Feroz Gandhi are among the members of the Gandhi family to have represented the seat in the past. The party lost the seat in 1977, 1996 and 1998.
Fierce battles in UP Lok Sabha polls
Uttar Pradesh will witness some important Lok Sabha battles in the upcoming polls with big guns fighting against each other. From the BJP's side, PM Narendra Modi, Union Minister Rajnath Singh will be among the key players contesting from their incumbent seats - Varanasi and Lucknow.
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The Congress, which is fighting the poll battle with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, is yet to announce its list. The two INDIA bloc allies have figured out a seat-sharing deal, under which the Congress will contest on 17 seats while the SP will fight from the remaining 63 seats in the state.
Congress performance in UP in 2019
Notably, the Congress won only one seat in UP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Veteran leader Sonia Gandhi was the lone Congress MP to have won from the Raebareli constituency. This time, she chose to vacate the seat and fight the Rajya Sabha elections instead, which she won unopposed from Rajasthan in February.
The schedule for the elections to 543 constituencies is yet to be announced by the election body.
