The Congress chose KL Sharma, a loyalist of the Gandhi family, to run against Smriti Irani, who currently holds the Amethi Lok Sabha seat. Even though the Congress put forward Kishori Lal Sharma against Smriti Irani in Amethi, the Union minister sees Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as her main opponent. Irani said, “I don’t want to play childish politics.”
She commented on Rahul Gandhi’s decision to run from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi and Priyanka not contesting despite speculation. Irani sees Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s influence in the background. She noted that even though Rahul won by a big margin in 2014, he lost to her in 2019. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been campaigning heavily for both Amethi and Rae Bareli, which are closely associated with the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul’s mother, represented Amethi for several terms, while she won consecutively from Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi first contested from Amethi in 2004 and won twice, but lost to Irani in 2019. He also contested and won from Kerala’s Wayanad.
In the current elections, he ran from Wayanad again and later also contested from Rae Bareli. KL Sharma was named as the Congress candidate against Smriti Irani in Amethi, while in Rae Bareli, BJP nominated Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Pratap Singh, who lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2019. Both constituencies will vote in the fifth phase on May 20.
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