India: Opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi enters electoral battle

The primary opposition in India, the Indian National Congress has announced after weeks of suspense and uncertainty that Rahul Gandhi, the party's former president will run for the general elections from Raebareli in northern India.

The announcement of the scion of the Gandhi family, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather were all Indian Prime Ministers, came just hours before the deadline to file nominations on Friday for the seat that will go to poll on May 20.

The party said that the decision to field Gandhi from Raebareli was made at a meeting of the 'Central Election Committee'.

The Raebareli constituency has been consistently won by members of the Gandhi family since 1952. Both grandfather and grandmother of Rahul, Feroze Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and his Italian-born mother Sonia Gandhi have previously held this seat.

The party and the family's choice to nominate Gandhi from the constituency in Uttar Pradesh (UP) state demonstrates their belief in challenging the political power of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Gandhi who previously contested from the adjoining Amethi seat, also situated in UP, lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani, while Raebareli was retained by Sonia against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh, which made it the only seat Congress had won of the 80 in UP.

He contested from the second seat in Wayanad, a southern state of Kerala, and entered parliament. Once again, he is in the fray from Wayanad, which had its voting on April 26.

The Indian electoral system permits candidates to compete for multiple seats, but they can only hold onto one seat if they secure victories in multiple contests.

Gandhi will now face Singh this time, who was announced as the BJP's pick from Raebareli on Thursday.

“Rahul Gandhi had to contest from UP. Contesting from Amethi would have converted the fight into Rahul Vs Smriti. In that scenario, Rahul would have needed more time in Amethi. Raebareli remains a safer seat," said a Congress leader.

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Meanwhile, the Amethi seat, which has been a family bastion for the Gandhis, would be contested by party loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma, who will face Irani.

Talking to reporters, Congress worker Yogendra Yadav said Sharma is a part of the Gandhi family.

"There is no disappointment. We will definitely win from Amethi. Sharma is also a part of the Gandhi family now. He has worked for the Gandhi family in Amethi for 30 to 35 years," he said.

For several decades, the neighboring constituencies of Raebareli and Amethi have consistently supported the Gandhi family or their close relatives in elections, making them strongholds of the family's political influence since the 1950s.

For 54 of the 76 years following India's independence from British rule, the Indian National Congress, the nation's oldest political party and a key player in the independence movement, governed New Delhi. This tenure ended in 2014 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power.

The general elections in India commenced on April 19, and the voting process will be conducted in seven phases until June 1. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on June 4.

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