There is excitement over Rahul from Amethi and Priyanka from Rae Bareli as Congress announces 11 more LS candidates

The Congress, on Sunday, revealed 11 additional candidates for the Lok Sabha elections amid heightened anticipation that former party president Rahul Gandhi will submit his nomination to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi following the second phase of voting, scheduled for April 26.

Gandhi is vying for a mandate for the second time from Kerala’s Wayanad, which is set for polls in the second phase. Speculation also suggested that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would make her electoral debut from the party’s stronghold of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, a constituency previously held by her mother, Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress Central Election Committee, which convened earlier in the day, was anticipated to finalize candidates for Haryana, the remaining seats in Bihar, Punjab, as well as the critical seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. However, sources indicate that the Uttar Pradesh seats were not discussed during the meeting. The session was chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former party chief Sonia Gandhi, along with senior leaders Salman Khurshid and Ambika Soni, among others.

Numerous names were deliberated for Punjab and Bihar, with the final decision on key seats deferred for the Congress president to determine, sources revealed. They further added that the subsequent list of candidates would be disclosed “very soon.”

While the Congress is contesting all 13 seats in Punjab, it is poised to field candidates for nine seats in Bihar and is part of the Mahagathbandhan alliance with RJD and the Left parties.

Subsequently, the party announced the names of nine candidates for Andhra Pradesh seats and two candidates for Jharkhand Lok Sabha constituencies. Yashashwini Sahay will be the party’s candidate from the Ranchi seat.

Although the CEC did not address the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, sources suggest that Rahul Gandhi is inclined to file his nomination for Amethi after April 26.

Last week, Gandhi stated that he would adhere to his party’s decision on the candidature for Amethi.

During a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Gandhi remarked, “The party will decide on Amethi. I will abide by whatever decision is made. In our party, these decisions are made during the CEC meetings.”

Despite representing Amethi for three consecutive terms in the past, Gandhi was defeated by Union Minister Smriti Irani by a margin of over 50,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In an interview with this publication, Congress leader Dinesh Singh highlighted that both seats are considered strongholds of the Gandhi family, and the state units of the party have urged the siblings to contest from there. “We are confident they will contest. There is discontent against the current MP, and the tide is in our favor,” he affirmed.