Raebareli:

A class 10 student at a private school in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli suffered multiple injuries, including a broken tooth, when he was brutally thrashed by his teacher over his incomplete homework, the police said.

According to reports, the teacher thrashed the boy so badly that he was knocked unconscious and collapsed on the floor. The teacher then fled the scene.

The students informed the principal, who then rushed the injured boy to the hospital.

Police arrested the teacher, identified as Mohammed Asif, who taught science subjects (Chemistry and Physics) on Wednesday.

Salon Station House Officer (SHO), J.P. Singh, said that the student was given homework in April, when the school closed for summer vacation.

On Tuesday, when the student reached the school, the teacher asked him about it.

“When the boy said he could not complete the homework due to some personal issues, the teacher lost his temper and thrashed him with a stick. As a result, he fell unconscious. He suffered serious injuries on his mouth and face,” said the police based on the complaint by the father of the student.

The SHO added that the school has also initiated an inquiry against the teacher.

The father of the student said his son was brutally thrashed and was taken to the hospital on Tuesday but was discharged a day later.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written a heartfelt letter to the “sisters and brothers” of Wayanad. Rahul Gandhi resigned last week (June 18) from the Lok Sabha seat of Kerala while retaining the Raebareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh, earlier represented by his mother and veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

“You must have seen the sadness in my eyes as I stood in front of the media and told you about my decision,” wrote Rahul Gandhi, pointing to the announcement on the two seats made by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on June 17. Mr Kharge was accompanied by Mr Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress has decided to field her from Wayanad, the parliamentary seat that her brother won for two consecutive terms.

“Rahul Gandhi won from two Lok Saba seats but as per the law, he has to vacate one seat. Rahul Gandhi will retain Raebareli and we have decided that Priyanka ji will fight from Wayanad,” Mr Kharge told reporters after a meeting of the party’s top brass.

Expressing gratitude to the people of Wayanad for their “unbridled love and affection”, Rahul Gandhi said, “I met you five years ago. The first time I visited you I came asking for your support. I was a stranger to you and yet you believed in me.”

“When I faced abuse day after day, your unconditional love protected me. You were my refuge, my home and my family,” he added.

The former Congress chief also reminisced how “young girls would translate my speeches in front of thousands of people”.

Mr Gandhi, however, asserted that he was “consoled because my sister Priyanka will be there to represent you,” adding, “I am confident that she will do an excellent job of being your MP if you decide to give her the opportunity”.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said it was a difficult decision for him as he has an emotional relationship with both Raebareli and Wayanad and added that both the seats “will get two MPs”.

Further thanking the people of the Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, Mr Gandhi said, “You are part of my family and I will always be there for each and every one of you.”

If Priyanka Gandhi is elected from Wayanad, it will be the first time that all three Gandhi family members – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi – will be in Parliament together. Sonia Gandhi is now a member of the Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi:

The Congress decision to have Rahul Gandhi retain Raebareli and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contest from the seat he is vacating, Kerala’s Wayanad, is seen as one of the party’s better planned strategic moves. It is expected to give it a firm foothold in both north and south — necessary groundwork for future elections.

Raebareli is one of the two Gandhi family bastions in Uttar Pradesh, represented for long by Rahul Gandhi’s mother Sonia Gandhi. With the other bastion, Amethi, won back from the BJP by longtime Gandhi family loyalist KL Sharma, it gives back the Congress its firm base that once made it the undisputed choice of Uttar Pradesh.

Elections are due in the state in early 2027 in which the Congress is hoping to expand the niche it created in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election.

From just one seat in 2019, Raebareli, the Congress has won six seats. Its INDIA ally in the state, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, 37. Their combined number, 43, has reduced the BJP to 33 in a state that for a decade, was seen as its stronghold.

Having drawn blood, the idea now, party insiders hint, is to launch a strong attack on the Yogi Adityanath government in 2027.

But Mr Gandhi’s continued presence in Raebareli has ramifications larger than Uttar Pradesh. The Congress, which has almost doubled its numbers in the Lok Sabha — from 52 in 2019 to 99 — is hoping to stay on the growth curve, which is near impossible without increasing is footprint in the Hindi belt of the north.

The south is another story, where unlike the north, the Congress already rules three states. It won the last year’s assembly elections in Karnataka and Telangana and rules Tamil Nadu with ally MK Stalin’s DMK.

The next target is Kerala, which swung between the Congress and the Left every five years – till it broke the mould in 2021 and voted in the Left the Left for a second term. The Congress is now hoping that anti-incumbency will push the state to its side in 2026.

To that end, the presence of a Gandhi family member in Wayanad is expected to be a huge benefit. While the seat has been a traditional Congress bastion, Rahul Gandhi’s election this year is said to have re-vitalised the party. Of the 20 seats in Kerala, the Congress has won 14 seats, only one down, despite a massive BJP campaign that enabled them to open account in the state with one seat.

In a clear hint of the Kerala Congress’s enthusiasm for the new candidate, senior party leader from the state, KC Venugopal, was seen with Mr Kharge today at the press conference where Ms Gandhi Vadra’s debut was announced.

Mr Gandhi made it clear that his and his sister’s continued presence in both states is a given.

“You are now going to have two MPs, I will keep visiting,” he said in a message to the people of Wayanad. “Two seats (Wayanand and Raebareli) will have two MPs each,” echoed Ms Gandhi Vadra, underscoring her two-decade relationship with Raebareli. As for Wayanand, she said, “I won’t let the people of Wayanad feel his (Rahul Gandhi’s) absence”.

“I will work hard, try my best to make everyone happy in Wayanad, be a good representative,” she added.

Raebareli:

In this much-in-the-news Lok Sabha constituency, the Gandhi name is the backdrop against which every political debate takes place — whether for voters, for the Congress fighting to keep its bastion or for the BJP going all out for a win.

Issues such as the Ram Temple, the Modi factor, the government’s free ration scheme, ‘pucca’ houses for the poor, stray cattle and the Congress’ allegation that the BJP will change the Constitution if it returns to power are all part of the election discourse. But the Gandhi factor looms large over it all.

Such has been the Congress’ domination that it has lost Raebareli only thrice since Independence – in 1977, 1996 and 1998. Sonia Gandhi represented the constituency for four consecutive terms since 2004 and has now passed on the baton to her son Rahul Gandhi.

The former Congress president, who suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the BJP’s high-profile minister Smriti Irani in the nearby family pocket borough Amethi, is up against the BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.

“Yahan toh panja chalta hai, yeh Gandhi family ka garh hai. Koi bhi candidate ho, Gandhi parivar hi jeetega. Yahan sirf margin ki baat hai (The Congress’ hand symbol prevails here as this is the Gandhi family stronghold. Whoever the candidate, the Gandhi family will win from here, the only question here is about the margin of victory),” said rickshaw puller Sonu Pandey.

Ravinder Singh, a toy shop owner, agreed. In his view, Rahul Gandhi will “sail through” from here as the bond with the Gandhi family is above other things.

“Last time, there was a different sentiment prevailing in the country and still Sonia ji won by over 1,67,000 votes. So this time Rahul should have it easy. The only point of interest is the margin,” he told PTI.

There is a flip side too.

Several BJP voters say the Ram temple sentiment may give the ruling party a fillip but are also aware of the herculean task at hand and concede that it is a daunting electoral contest for Dinesh Singh, who lost to Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Alok Singh, a taxi driver in Raebareli city, said he will vote for the BJP. After all, it was only under PM Modi’s rule that the Ram temple was constructed after centuries, he said. However, he also concededthat a victory for the BJP from here seemed a difficult prospect.

“Though I am a BJP supporter and voter as I feel the Gandhis have ruled here for a long time and development that should have come has not happened, I don’t want to be under any illusion… 99 per cent Rahul Gandhiwill win,” he told PTI.

The party’s move of fielding Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli instead of Amethi was seen by many as motivated by the fact that this is a relatively safe seat. Whether or not that was the party’s motivation, the seat certainly has all the trappings of a Gandhi family fortress with most people vouching for the century-old ties between the Nehru-Gandhi clan and people of the area.

‘Raebareli ke Rahul’ has been the Congress catchphrase for his campaign here and the party has been stressing on the emotive connect going back generations.

On Friday, ahead of the May 20 phase, Sonia Gandhi addressed a rally and issued an emotional appeal.

“I am entrusting my son (Rahul Gandhi) to you. Treat him like your own as you treated me. Rahul will never disappoint you,” she said at a large public rally in the constituency she represented for 20 years with Rahul Gandhi by her side.

Also at the rally was her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Though Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Dinesh Singh are battling it out at the hustings, much of the spotlight is on the Congress general secretary who is leading her party’s charge in her family’s electoral fortress.

The Congress does not want to leave anything to chance after the Amethi defeat last time.

Priyanka Gandhi has indeed run a spirited campaign in both Raebareli and nearby Amethi, where Gandhi family aide Kishori Lal Sharma is taking on the BJP’s high-profile minister Smriti Irani.

In her campaign speeches here, she makes it a point to evoke the 103-year-old bond between the Nehru-Gandhi family, dating back to 1921 when Jawaharlal Nehru visited the area, and the people.

The BJP is putting up a tough fight too.

It knows the importance of being persistent as the nearby Amethi constituency had shown last time and is going all out to breach the fortress with Home Minister Amit Shah visiting the constituency twice in less than a week to campaign for Singh.

Singh has also been targeting the Gandhi family during the campaign and maintains that the Gandhis are not unbeatable here.

Sonia Gandhi fought on a Congress ticket but the SP, BSP and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) faction supported her and she fought as the representative of four parties, Singh told PTI.

“Rahul Gandhi does not have the support of the parties that Sonia Gandhi did,” he said.

Voices from the ground indicate that the free ration scheme and ‘pucca’ houses for the poor have also gotten traction.

Harilal, another battery-operated rickshaw driver, said, “We are getting free ration. I also got a pucca house. I don’t know who will win but I will vote for the BJP.” The BJP is determined to cause an upset but it seems a daunting task in light of the emotive connect of the Gandhi family with the electorate here.

The Raebareli constituency comprises Bachhrawan, Harchandpur, Raebareli, Sareni, and Unchahar assembly segments.

Voting for the Amethi and Raebareli constituencies will take place on May 20 and the votes will be counted on June 4 along with the rest of the country.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Raebareli:

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Friday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “khata-khat” jibe at the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, and said the public is now going to remove him from the top post “fata-fatt, fata-fatt, fata-fatt (quickly)”.

Mr Yadav targeted the Prime Minister while addressing an INDIA bloc rally here in the presence of Congress candidate Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi also joined the public meeting later.

Mr Yadav said, “They (BJP and PM Modi) are saying that we will go abroad, but the people of our country are aware, they know that he (PM Modi) has sent his important people and friends abroad one after the other. His friends, one after the other, fled abroad ‘khata-khat khata-khat (swiftly).”

Accusing the Modi government of drowning the country in debt, Mr Yadav said, “Now, the public is telling them that they will remove you fata-fatt, fata-fatt, fata-fatt.”

He also said that those who asserted they will not indulge in corruption themselves nor allow others to indulge in corruption (“na khaunga, na khane dunga“), have swallowed everything and are saying “gata-gat gata-gat”.

“Sab dakar gaye aur keh rahen hain gata-gat gata-gat. (They have not even burped after devouring electoral bonds),” he said.

Addressing a public meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi had said the INDIA bloc will disintegrate post-elections and Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav will go abroad on a summer vacation ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘.

He used the ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘ phrase at a rally in Fatehpur on Friday as well.

“The dreams of ‘panja’ (Congress’s poll symbol) and ‘cycle’ (SP’s poll symbol) have shattered ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘. Now they are planning for post-June 4 as to who should be blamed for the defeat ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘. And, someone was telling me that tickets for foreign trips have also been booked ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘.”

PM Modi’s jibe came in response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi often using the phrase “khata-khat khata-khat” to claim that a fixed stipend would flow into the accounts of poor women if his party comes to power.

Hitting out at PM Modi without taking his name, Mr Yadav said at his rally on Friday, “There is a very big leader of the country who feigns a relationship with every place he goes.”

Pointing towards the crowd, Mr Yadav said, “Let them also see and hear that Rahul Gandhiji’s true relationship is with Raebareli. If ‘Ra’ is for Raebareli then ‘Ra’ is also for Rahul.” “Those who do not understand counting should also understand that one plus one has become 11 and the BJP has become nau do gyaraha (fled). Those who have seen the four phases of elections know that the BJP is defeated,” Mr Yadav said.

Taking aim at MLA Manoj Pandey, who left the SP and joined the BJP, Mr Yadav said, “I heard that our second traitor has also gone there (to BJP). One speciality of the fraudster who has just gone there is that wherever he goes, he digs a hole.”

Mr Pandey, who came out in support of the BJP candidate during the Rajya Sabha elections earlier this year, joined the BJP in Raebareli on Friday and sat next to Home Minister Amit Shah on the stage. Recently Shah had also visited his residence.

Voting will be held in the fifth phase in Raebareli on May 20, where BJP has fielded state minister Dinesh Pratap Singh against Congress’ Rahul Gandhi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

As he seeks to retain the Rae Bareli seat represented by his mother Sonia Gandhi for two decades, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he has an emotional family relationship with the people and will stand by both Amethi and Rae Bareli whenever required.

He shared an emotional video with his mother on social media, where he is seen watching family pictures in Amethi and Rae Bareli and remembered their connect with the people of both Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and is pitted against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha election against Sonia Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi was earlier an MP from Amethi but had lost to Smriti Irani in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“Rae Bareli and Amethi are not just constituencies for us, they are our ‘karmabhoomi’, every corner of which is holding the memories of generations.

रायबरेली और अमेठी हमारे लिए सिर्फ चुनाव क्षेत्र नहीं, हमारी कर्मभूमि है, जिसका कोना कोना पीढ़ियों की यादें संजोए हुए है।

मां के साथ पुरानी तस्वीरें देखकर पापा और दादी की याद भी आ गयी, जिनकी शुरू की गयी सेवा की परंपरा मैंने और मां ने आगे बढ़ाई।

प्रेम और विश्वास की बुनियाद पर… pic.twitter.com/9RKgGG8qjb

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 14, 2024

“Looking at old photographs with my mother, I also remembered my father and grandmother, whose started this tradition of service and was carried forward by me and my mother,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.

“This relationship of more than 100 years old, built on the foundation of love and trust, has given us everything. Whenever Amethi and Rae Bareli calls us, we will be there,” he also said while sharing the video.

In the over 6-minute video, Sonia Gandhi said she started visiting Amethi in 1982 when they used to go there for holding medical camps and several good doctors from Delhi used to always work there and offer help.

“Panditji started this political life with the area in 1921 and a farmer leader Baba Ram Chandra shared his grief with Panditji. Rahul’s grandfather Feroze Gandhi was the MP from Rae Bareli in 1952,” she also said, adding that after his demise, his grandmother Indira Gandhi started representing Rae Bareli.

“We used to visit village to village during weddings or deaths and even visited during floods or drought and visited people during to attend villages. They accepted me immediately and I shared a relationship like a daughter and daughter-in-law,” Sonia Gandhi also said.

Mr said, “Our family has a relationship of over 100 years with Amethi and Rae Bareli”.

He added that his great grandfather started his politics against the British from Rae Bareli.

He also said that during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, people of the area had come to them when an ITI was being shut in Rae Bareli and said, “we worked hard to save it as we wanted to save that technological spirit in the area.” “In 1982 when my father went there, he worked hard and initiated a lot of development work and transformed Amethi completely.

“In Rae Bareli, my grandmother had initiated a lot of development and it was ahead of Amethi. But, whn my father went to Amethi, he ushered in a lot of developmental works and then it looked as if Amethi is ahead of Rae Bareli,” he also said.

Then, he said, our government was formed and my mother and I initiated a lot of works and ensured road connectivity and constructed national highways and other roads. “We also started self help groups and helped lakhs of women and opened their bank accounts that transformed their lives.” Mr Gandhi said they also opened institutions there like the Petroleum institute and CRPF training camp.

“The biggest work that could have transformed Amethi and Rae areli, and was stopped by the BJP, was the food park, where 40 separate storage would have been created. I felt that that food park would have changed the face of Amethi and Rae Bareli.

“That is my plan for Rae Bareli, to connect Rae Bareli with the entire country and open up manufacturing units there. I would also want to set up a food processing unit there,” Mr Gandhi said.

“I also want to hear out the hearts of people of Rae Bareli and act on it. The works done by my grandmother and mother in Rae Bareli, I want to take that forward,” he noted.

“That relationship is different, it is like a family, friendship and affection. Like I have my relationship with my mother and sister, I have the same relationship with Rae Bareli. I also like the food there and the ‘Arhar ki Dal’ made there, you can’t find anywhere else. For me, Amethi and Rae Bareli are the same and whenever Amethi and Rae Bareli require us, we will be available,” Rahul Gandhi also said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Rahul Gandhi, the Congress candidate from Raebareli, is campaigning to defend the family bastion – a stronghold of the since Independence.

Mr Gandhi reached the constituency with his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to participate in one of the biggest rallies since he filed nominations for the seat. It was Mr Gandhi’s first rally in Raebareli.

While concluding his speech, Mr Gandhi asked his supporters whether they had any questions. A supporter in the crowd asked, “When are you getting married?” The Congress leader paused for a few seconds…smiled and said, “Jaldi karni padegi” (Now, I have to get married soon). Mr Gandhi waved at the crowd while his sister smiled and clapped and he walked off the stage.

As he ended his speech, he called his sister to the front of the dais.

Mr Gandhi expressed his appreciation for her efforts in the Raebareli campaign. “I am touring different parts of the country in the election and my sister is spending time here, a big thanks to her for this,” he said.

Priyanka Gandhi, who is not contesting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, is rallying for her brother in Raebareli and party loyalist and close aide, Kishori Lal Sharma, in Amethi. The two seats combined were considered a stronghold of the party until BJP’s Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in the previous general elections in 2019 and took the seat away from the Congress.

The suspense surrounding Amethi and Raebareli ended when Congress fielded Kishori Lal Sharma from the former and Mr Gandhi from the latter. The BJP has taunted the Congress for its choice and Ms Irani, the current MP from Amethi even called Mr Sharma a “proxy” and the Gandhis would have fought themselves and not fielded a proxy if they felt they could win.

We will leave no stone unturned in welcoming our guests. Congress’s decision to not field anyone from the Gandhi family in Amethi signifies that it has accepted defeat even before voting takes place,” said the actor-turned-politician.

Rahul Gandhi had won Amethi in 2004, 2009, and 2014, but a defeat to Ms Irani in 2019 reduced the Congress’s UP footprint. He had contested Wayanad in 2019 as a second seat and won it to retain his MP status.

Raebareli’s tryst with Congress can be traced back to the first general elections in 1952 when the seat was held by Feroze Gandhi, the husband of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and son-in-law of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who won the Raebareli seat in 1952 and then again in 1957. After he died in 1960, the Congress fielded RP Singh in the by-elections and retained the seat.

Sonia Gandhi picked Raebareli, a seat she won for four consecutive terms. In February 2024, when Mrs Gandhi announced her decision to not contest the next Lok Sabha elections, she wrote a letter to the Raebareli electorate, who supported her for two decades. “My family in Delhi is incomplete; it’s you all in Raebareli who complete it,” wrote the former Congress president. She added that her family’s ties with Raebareli run deep and she received it as a “saubhagya (good fortune)” from her in-laws.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate for the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat, which has been a Congress stronghold for decades. Mr Singh, a three-time Member of the Legislative Council in UP, will face former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who replaced his mother Sonia Gandhi in the family bastion. 

Mr Singh had lost the 2019 elections to Mrs Gandhi by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes. 

Here are some facts on Dinesh Pratap Singh:

1. Born on October 3, 1967, Dinesh Pratap Singh is from the Gunawar Kamangalpur village in Rae Bareli district. Mr Singh graduated from Feroze Gandhi Degree College, Raebareli, in 1986. 

2. Mr Singh started his political journey in 2004 with the Samajwadi Party, unsuccessfully contesting as an MLC. Three years later, he switched to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and contested his first Assembly elections. Despite BSP forming the government in Uttar Pradesh at the time, Mr Singh lost his seat. 

3. In 2010, Dinesh Pratap Singh jumped ship again, joining the Congress and winning two successive terms as an MLC. In 2017, he was suspended from the Congress for allegedly misbehaving with the general secretary of the Raebareli Congress committee and other local party leaders. He was also accused of attempting to undermine Kishori Lal Sharma, AICC general secretary and Sonia Gandhi’s representative in the constituency. 

4. In 2018, he joined the BJP and contested against Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In 2022, he was elected as an MLC again, this time with the support of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP. 

5. Dinesh Pratap Singh has claimed that no matter “which Gandhi comes to Raebareli, they will lose”. Mr Singh is believed to hold significant influence in the Thakur community.  

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi may contest from Raebareli – the seat vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi — and the party could field senior leader and longtime Gandhi family loyalist KL Sharma from Amethi, sources have told NDTV. The Gandhi siblings were told to take a call on the issue by Thursday night, but the party is yet to make a formal announcement.  Friday is the last date for filing of nomination.

At a meeting with Mr Gandhi on Thursday evening, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had suggested that both siblings contest, but left the final decision to them in view of their “knowledge of the ground reality”.

KL Sharma is one of the close aides of the Gandhi family and represented Sonia Gandhi in the constituency when she was its MP. Mrs Gandhi has now moved onto the Rajya Sabha, leaving a vacuum in which Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was expected to step in.   

Ms Gandhi Vadra, though, remains firm on her decision not to contest despite much pressure. Party sources hinted that her reluctance stems from the fact that her victory from Raebareli would place all three Gandhi family members in parliament, reinforcing the BJP accusation of dynasty politics.

Sources said Mr Kharge had suggested to Mr Gandhi that he and his sister both contest from the two seats, their family bastions for decades. Not contesting would send a wrong message, and its ramification would be felt not just in Uttar Pradesh but the rest of the country.

The Congress has been delaying the decision on candidates for the two seats for weeks. As the tension escalate, Congress workers went into protest mode in Amethi earlier this week, seeking a member of the Gandhi family as candidate. Election for both seats is due on May 20, the fifth phase.

New Delhi:

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge are having a meeting to decide on the candidates for Amethi and Raebareli, where the last date for filing of nomination is Friday. The party had handed Mr Kharge the responsibility of choosing a candidate, sources have said. The two leaders are expected to arrive at a decision after the meeting, which is being held in Karnataka, where Mr Gandhi has gone for campaigning.

Sources said while Mr Gandhi is expected to contest on one seat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra still remains firm on her decision not to contest despite much pressure. There was widespread expectation that she would step into her mother’s shoes in Raebareli.

The Congress has been delaying the decision for weeks. But now, the time has almost run out. Two days ago, Congress workers went into protest mode in Amethi, seeking a member of the Gandhi family as candidate.  

Election for both seats is due on May 20, the fifth phase.

There are reports that Rahul Gandhi may not be interested in contesting from Amethi. A victory would mean that he might have to surrender the Kerala seat, which sent him to the Lok Sabha in 2019.

Party sources hinted that Ms Gandhi Vadra’s reluctance stems from the fact that her victory from Raebareli would place all three Gandhi family members in parliament, reinforcing the BJP accusation of dynasty politics. Sonia Gandhi, who till now represented Raebareli, has moved onto Rajya Sabha.

The Congress feels much rides on the decision on these two key seats — the party expects it to set the tone for the rest of the election. Polls on 353 seats will be held in the remaining five phases. Of these seats, the Congress is contesting on 330 — the BJP has won the Surat and Indore seats without a contest.

This is the lowest number of seats the Congress has contested in since Independence. The reason is the united front the Opposition is putting up and many of the seats have been conceded to allies in various states.