In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Congress loyalist ‘journalist’ Aadesh Rawal claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is contesting from two Lok Sabha seats—Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, if he wins both, would resign from Rae Bareli.
Rawal claimed that Rahul Gandhi had put forth a condition before agreeing to contest from Rae Bareli. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had, as per Rawal, said that if Congress abandons both Rae Bareilly and Amethi, then it will send a wrong message to the public as polling of five phases has yet to commence.
"Rahul Gandhi said, I will dump Raebareli if I win both Raebareli & Waynad. He's contesting from Raebareli just to get some benefits in North India" – Reveals Congress's loyalist journalist Adesh Rawal
— Mr Sinha (Modi's family) (@MrSinha_) May 8, 2024
Dear people of Raebareli, don't waste your vote. Vote for @rbldineshsingh ji. pic.twitter.com/lgwj1q2Xtu
“Rahul Gandhi said that he has no problem in contesting the election, but if I [Rahul Gandhi] win from both the seats, then I will not leave the Wayanad seat. And if during the poll campaign, the media asks about which seat I will retain, then I will not be able to lie to them. I will tell them that I will give up Rae Bareli,” Rawal said adding that a final decision on this will be taken by the party only after the 4th of June and taking the national standing of I.N.D.I Alliance and Congress in the election results. He said that Rahul Gandhi agreed to contest from Rae Bareli only after this discussion.
It is worth noting that during the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when Congress was desperately searching for a “safe seat” after an internal party survey allegedly predicted defeat against Smriti Irani in Amethi, a Times Now report said the reason for the Congress party to choose Wayanad for Rahul Gandhi. In a sting video, a senior Congress Party leader said Congress President Rahul Gandhi is facing pressure in Amethi and has to find a safe seat, implying that he should contest from Wayanad as Hindus form a minority in the Wayanad constituency which will ensure an easy victory for Rahul Gandhi.
Notably, Aadesh also said that the saga began when Sonia Gandhi decided to go to Rajya Sabha and Priyanka Gandhi decided not to contest elections since the Gandhi family has always been accused of dynastic politics and the party has suffered losses due to this.
Notably, on May 3, the last day of filing nominations, Congress announced Rahul Gandhi’s name as the candidate for Rae Bareli. seat. Sonia Gandhi had vacated the Rae Bareli seat recently, choosing to go to parliament via the Rajya Sabha route. BJP has already announced UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh as a candidate for the Rae Bareilly seat.
