Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, is ready to announce his candidature for the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, a seat that has long been connected to his family and was just left vacant by his mother, Sonia Gandhi. Kishori Lal Sharma, a supporter of Rahul, will run for office in Amethi in the interim.
Nominations for both constituencies must be submitted by this Friday, May 3. Elections are set to take place in these two seats on May 20, which have long been regarded as strongholds of the Gandhi family.
Earlier this year, after joining the Rajya Sabha, Sonia Gandhi gave up her seat in Rae Bareli. In the Rae Bareli polls, where Sonia Gandhi won in the 2019 general elections, Rahul Gandhi—who is now running from Kerala’s Wayanad district—will face off against Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP.
The Congress candidate in Amethi will be Kishori Lal Sharma, a close friend of Rahul Gandhi. Having served three terms as the Lok Sabha representative for Amethi, Rahul’s attention was moved to Wayanad, where he is currently the MP, after he lost to Smriti Irani of the BJP in 2019.
It’s anticipated that Sonia Gandhi will be present at Rahul Gandhi’s nomination event, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will accompany Kishori Lal Sharma. Supporters of both Rahul and Priyanka have readied their nomination papers well in advance.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Smriti Irani has already filed her nomination papers from Amethi. The delay in announcing Congress candidates for these seats prompted criticism from the BJP, which cited it as a sign of the Congress’s wavering confidence.
When asked about contesting from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi stated last month that he would abide by the decision of the party leadership. Sonia Gandhi previously represented Rae Bareli from 2004 to 2024 and won the Lok Sabha polls in Amethi in 1999.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is contesting 17 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, while its ally, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, is contesting 63 seats.
