THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The AICC leadership has decided that at this juncture it wouldn’t be prudent to reveal its strategy on the candidate to Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, once Rahul Gandhi decides to relinquish the seat in favour of Rae Bareli.
The Congress state leadership is firm in its stand that if Rahul opts for Rae Bareli, then AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi should represent Wayanad, which it sees as a reserved seat for the Nehru family for the 2029 election.
Priyanka played a significant role in the resurgence of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, where the party wrested five additional seats from the BJP.
With this, INDIA bloc leaders started to clamour for her presence in the Lok Sabha.
On the flip side, Priyanka’s entry into Parliament will add impetus to the BJP chorus against dynasty politics. Sonia Gandhi is a Rajya Sabha member.
At the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday, Priyanka expressed her desire to remain a party worker. A senior Congress leader from Delhi told TNIE that Priyanka is under tremendous pressure to contest the LS by-election.
“In the current circumstances, Priyanka can contest from Wayanad, which Rahul is expected to part with on June 17. The Nehru family will not latch on to the bait immediately. In the coming days more INDIA bloc leaders will intensify their demand to see her in Lok Sabha. Congress leaders from the state who attended the CWC meeting maintained that Rahul should retain his Wayanad seat,” the senior leader said.
The Congress leadership in Uttar Pradesh has also urged Rahul to represent Rae Bareli which has only added pressure to him and his family.
A sitting Congress MP from the state told TNIE that in all likelihood Priyanka would eventually contest from Wayanad.
“If Priyanka contests from Wayanad, she will easily surpass Rahul’s lead of over 3.6 lakh votes. The Nehru family sees Wayanad as a reserved seat in time for the next general election as we don’t know what’s going to be the trend in 2029. Hence, Rahul will pass the buck to her soon,” a senior Congress MP noted.
The Congress state leadership has already apprised the central leadership that if a local leader contests the Wayanad bypoll, the margin of victory will come down drastically.
