Ending days of suspense, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday filed his nomination papers from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh which had been vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi who won it last time. Gandhi skipped a contest at his traditional seat of Amethi against BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani who defeated him in the 2019 general elections. The Gandhi family loyalist, Kishori Lal Sharma, who has had no experience of contesting elections, is now the Congress candidate against Irani.

Gandhi was attacked by the BJP, with PM Narendra Modi himself leading the charge by cautioning him: “Daro mat (don’t be afraid), bhaago mat (don’t run away)”. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called him out at a campaign rally in Rohtak (Haryana). “Rahul Gandhi left the battleground and ran away to Wayanad. When his party wanted him to contest elections again from Amethi, he chose Rae Bareli. We all know what to call a person who runs away from the battle,” Singh said.

Union Minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani, who had defeated Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in 2019, said Gandhi’s decision to switch Amethi for Rae Bareli shows that they have already conceded defeat.

Safer seat

“Gandhi family not being present in the election fray in Amethi indicates that Congress party has accepted its defeat in Amethi even before the polling on the seat,” Irani told reporters. “Had they felt there was any chance of victory on the seat, they would have contested from here and not fielded their proxy,” the BJP leader said on KL Sharma’s candidature.

After the Congress announced both the names early on Friday morning, Gandhi -- accompanied by family members, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge - flew down to Rae Bareli to file his nomination. The BJP has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh who had lost to Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 elections.

Sharma, who for years has been managing elections for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and Rae Bareli, too filed his nomination papers from Amethi.

Gandhi opted for Rae Bareli, the safer among the two seats, as it withstood the Modi wave during the last two consecutive elections of 2014 and 2019. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi continued with her winning streak since 2004 till 2019 polls, taking the political legacy of former Prime Minister and her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, forward.

However, after Emergency, she lost the election as a sitting Prime Minister. Congress has won this seat 17 out of 20 elections.

Sonia Gandhi had vacated Amethi for Rahul in 2004 who continued to represent it in Lok Sabha till 2019 when he lost for the first time to Irani.