NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that he has an “emotional connection” with both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats and that leaving Wayanad is a “tough decision.”
Rahul Gandhi will keep his Rae Bareli seat while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad, the party announced on Monday.
“I have an emotional connection with both Wayanad and Rae Bareli. And for the last five years, being an MP from Wayanad has been a fantastic experience and enjoyable experience. I thanks people who stood with me, I thank the people of Wayanad who gave me love and affection. They gave me the energy to fight in a very difficult time. So I will never forget that. I want everyone in Wayanad to know that Priyanka is going to fight elections in Wayanad but I will be a frequent visitor to Wayanad and I will be available to the people of Wayanad and the commitments we have made will stand up to them and will to deliver all those commitments. I have an old relationship with Rae Bareli, I am happy that I will get to represent them again but it was a tough decision,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He further said that he is confident that her sister Priyanka Gandhi would win the elections from Wayanad.
“Priyanka Gandhi is going to fight the elections and I am confident that she is going to win the elections. The people of Wayanad can think that they have two members of the Parliament, one is my sister and the other is me. My doors are always open for the people of Wayanad, I love every single person in Wayanad,” he added.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra vowed that she would not let Wayanad feel Rahul Gandhi’s absence.
“I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel his (Rahul Gandhi’s) absence. I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative. I have a very old relationship with Raebareli and Amethi and it cannot be broken. I will also help my brother in Rae Bareli. We will both be present in Rae Bareli and Wayanad,” Vadra said.
Rahul Gandhi interjected and said both constituencies are getting two MPs.
When reporters asked if she is feeling nervous, Vadra said, “Not at all.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that Rahul Gandhi will keep his Rae Bareli seat while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat.
“Rahul Gandhi won two Lok Sabha seats but as per the law, he has to vacate one seat. Rahul Gandhi will keep the Rae Bareli seat and vacate the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat,” Kharge said addressing the media outside his residence.
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.
Priyanka Gandhi is finally making her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat by keeping the family bastion of the Rae Bareli seat.
Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the people of Kerala like Priyanka Gandhi and would win the elections by a huge margin.
“The people of Kerala like Priyanka Gandhi ji. She will win with a big margin.” He also said, “Everybody is happy with the decision. Rahul Gandhi will keep Rae Bareli and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad,” Venugopal said.
On Rahul Gandhi to keep the Rae Bareli seat and Priyanka Gandhi to contest elections from Wayanad, Congress leader Ajay Rai said that the party will strive to strengthen the Congress.
“It was the demand of the people of Uttar Pradesh and all of us in the party that Rahul Gandhi keeps the Rae Bareli seat because it has been a family seat… We will further strive to strengthen the party… Priyanka Gandhi will be successful in keeping the Congress family intact and will prove to be an able leader… Priyanka Gandhi strengthened the party in the country and made it capable of contesting against PM Narendra Modi,” Rai said.
Congress leaders and Brother-sister duo Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared a hug after the announcement of Priyanka’s candidature from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, presently represented by her brother Rahul Gandhi.
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.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar slammed the Congress party and said that this is “shamelessness” that the party is imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad.
“There is shamelessness and there is Congress type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency. This pattern of betrayal is the reason why Cong has seen 3rd poll defeat under Rahul Gandhi,” Chandrasekhar posted on X.
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. (ANI)