It’s Rahul Gandhi Vs Dinesh Pratap Singh in Raebareli. Making its most awaited announcement, the Congress party on Friday named Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Raebareli. While, the grand old family announced the candidature of Rahul Gandhi with expectations that he would save the party’s bastion, the BJP on the other hand gave Dinesh Pratap Singh the responsibility to snatch away Gandhi’s turf Raebareli – a seat consecutively held by the family with Sonia Gandhi as the incumbent MP.
The crucial decision by Congress came just a day before the filing of the nomination is ending. Raebareli is set to go to votes in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 20.
Who Is Dinesh Pratap Singh?
A former Congress MLC, Dinesh Pratap Singh jumped ship in 2018. He was elected as a member of the state legislative council thrice in 2010, 2016 and 2022 (This time from the BJP). After he was declared as the candidate for Raebareli, he said, “I have even fought against four-time MP Sonia Gandhi, so Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are not important to me. Whichever Gandhi comes to Raebareli, they will lose.”
His confidence does not stem from nothing. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Sonia Gandhi’s victory margin was at least 3.5 lakh votes. But, in the 2019 polls, when Singh stood against her, her margin was nearly halved to just 1.67 lakh votes.
Dinesh Pratap Singh was credited for this feat and the BJP’s top leadership had their eye on 2024, as they plan to repeat an Amethi of 2019 in Raebareli. Smriti Irani, who similarly shrank senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s margin during her first shot in 2014; she went on to become a giant killer, defeating the Gandhi scion in his own turf in 2019.
Rahul Gandhi To Contest From Raebareli
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest from Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli, a seat represented by his mother Sonia Gandhi for four terms until she was elected to Rajya Sabha this year.
The move comes after days of intense speculation and heated debate over whether the Congres would field members of the Gandhi family from these two seats. Friday is the last date of filing of nominations for both seats that will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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