New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced on Monday that Rahul Gandhi will retain his Raebareli seat, while his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will make her electoral debut from the Wayanad constituency.
“Rahul Gandhi won two Lok Sabha seats but as per the law, he has to vacate one seat. Rahul Gandhi will keep the Raebareli seat and vacate the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat,” Kharge said addressing the media outside his residence.
#WATCH | Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge says “Rahul Gandhi won from 2 LS seats but as per the law he has to vacate one seat. Rahul Gandhi will keep the Raebareli seat and vacate Wayanad Lok Sabha seat..” pic.twitter.com/yXdtvDMGwl
— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2024
He further announced that Congress General Secretary Vadra would contest the elections from Wayanad. “We have decided that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will fight elections from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat,” the Congress chief added.
Following the announcement, Rahul Gandhi expressed his sentiments, stating, “I have an emotional connection with Waynand and Raebareli. I was an MP from Wayanad for the last 5 years. I thank the people for their love and support. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will fight from elections from Wayanad but I will also periodically visit Wayanad. I have an old relationship with Raebareli, I am happy that I will get to represent them again but it was a tough decision.”
#WATCH | Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “I have an emotional connection with Waynand and Raebareli. I was an MP from Wayanad for the last 5 years. I thank the people for their love and support. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will fight from elections from Wayanad but I will also… pic.twitter.com/olF8flIAU9
— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2024
The decision came after top party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi held a meeting at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide which Lok Sabha seat Rahul Gandhi would retain.
Rahul Gandhi, who contested from two seats — Rae Bareli and Wayanad, won both constituencies by huge margins. Rahul Gandhi won the seat of Rae Bareli by defeating BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,90,030 votes. Gandhi had contested this seat aiming to save the lone bastion of the party in the state after he lost Amethi in 2019.
The Congress leader also won the seat of Wayanad, which paved his entry to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Annie Raja by 3,64,422 votes.
