Lok Sabha Election: Rahul Gandhi to Contest in Raebareli; Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi

GUWAHATI: After keeping everyone waiting, the Congress finally revealed on Friday that Rahul Gandhi will run for the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat, while Kishori Lal Sharma, a loyal Congress member, will run for Amethi, both of which are strongholds for the party in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress announced this on Friday, which is also the final day for submitting nomination papers for both seats. Voting for both constituencies will take place on May 20.

Rahul Gandhi, who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Amethi, has been asked to run in Raebareli, which is currently held by his mother.

In 2019, Sonia Gandhi won Raebareli by 1.67 lakh votes, defeating BJP's Dinesh Singh. Singh, a three-term MLC and minister in the UP government, is again the BJP candidate.

He gave Sonia a tough competition in 2019, reducing her victory margin from 3.52 lakh votes in 2014 to 1.67 lakh. Sonia, who won Raebareli in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019, is not contesting this time and has moved to the Rajya Sabha.

Kishore Lal Sharma is one of the loyalists to the Gandhi family in Amethi and Raebareli. He has been involved in various party roles, including the Youth Congress, and has been an active Congress leader for forty years.

According to a Congress leader, Sharma is known for being very approachable and friendly, making him one of the most popular party figures in Amethi and Raebareli. Sonia Gandhi had also chosen Sharma as the party's representative in these two constituencies.

Rahul Gandhi, who is also running from Wayanad in Kerala, will be competing against Dinesh Singh. Singh, who was nominated to the Upper House in UP by the BJP, became a minister of state (independent charge) for horticulture, agriculture marketing, agriculture foreign trade, and agriculture export when the Yogi Adityanath-led government returned to power in 2022. He continues to hold these positions.

In Amethi, the BJP has chosen Union Minister Smriti Irani as their candidate. She defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019 by 55,120 votes. Irani had lost the 2014 elections by over 1 lakh votes, but the reduced margin of victory for Rahul in 2019 gave the BJP more confidence.

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