Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest from Raebareli for the Lok Sabha elections and party senior leader and loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma has been chosen for the Amethi seat, a statement released by the AICC said.
Earlier, Rahul's name was speculated for Amethi, which he lost to BJP candidate Smriti Irani in 2019, while Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi was said to contest from Raebareli. However, by Thursday night, it was almost clear that KL Sharma would be the party's pick for Amethi.
Sources within the party told news agencies that the Congress has started making preparations for the nomination filing in both seats, which have been traditionally held by members of the Gandhi-Nehru family. Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi is likely to attend Rahul Gandhi's nomination process if he is fielded, the sources said.
The BJP on Thursday announced Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli. He had lost to Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections.
While Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024, Rahul represented Amethi from 2004 and he remained the member of Parliament from the constituency for three consecutive terms till 2019. In 2019, he lost Amethi to BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani. Sonia too represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics and contested for the first time in 1999.
The seat has previously been represented by Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
As for Sharma, he was the key man who looked after the two key constituencies in the absence of the Gandhis. A native of Punjab, Sharma first came to Amethi as a Congress worker in 1983 and has worked closely with Congress leader and former prime minister (late) Rajiv Gandhi.
After Rajiv Gandhi died in 1991, Sharma kept working for the Congress party in Amethi and played a key role in Sonia Gandhi's campaign as well in 1999. After Sonia Gandhi vacated the Amethi seat and moved to Rae Bareli, KL Sharma moved to the city with her.
The Lok Sabha polls are being held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
