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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Set To Make Electoral Debut From Raebareli? Here's What We Know So Far
Nayan Dwivedi
Mar 06, 2024, 03:44 PM | Updated 03:42 PM IST
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In a significant development, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is poised to step into the electoral arena from the party's stronghold of Raebareli, as per reports on Wednesday (6 March).
This move follows the decision of her mother, Sonia Gandhi, to not seek re-election from the constituency she has represented five times in the past.
The decision comes after Sonia Gandhi shifted from the Lok Sabha to the Rajya Sabha recently.
"Due to health and increasing age, I will not contest the next Lok Sabha elections. After this decision, I will not get the opportunity to serve you directly, but, certainly, my heart and soul will always be with you," Sonia Gandhi had said in a letter to the voters of Raebareli.
"I know that you will stand by me and my family in the future, just as you have in the past," Sonia Gandhi added. This created the buzz of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contesting the seat.
Notably, Sonia Gandhi had been representing the Raebareli seat since 2004 and was the sole Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 elections.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to announce its candidate for Raebareli, where it faced defeat in the last couple of decades.
Earlier, supporters of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had put up posters in Raebareli, asking her to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The poster reads, "Rae Bareli pukarti, Priyanka Gandhi ji aaye (Raebareli calls, Priyanka Gandhi come)".
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, although making her electoral debut, is not a stranger to politics. She has been an active member of the Indian National Congress for years and has been the Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi is set to return to Amethi, the Congress' traditional stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, after facing a defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party's Smriti Irani in 2019.
Also, he will again contest from his current constituency of Wayanad in Kerala.
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Nayan Dwivedi is Staff Writer at Swarajya.
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