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.

Thiruvananthapuram:

Priyanka Gandhi’s presence in the Lok Sabha would strengthen the opposition benches and Wayanad would have a very strong person to represent them in Parliament, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday.

Mr Tharoor, speaking to the PTI on the sidelines of his ‘thanksgiving’ campaign in Neyyattinkara Assembly constituency, said Priyanka Gandhi has been a very effective orator during the election campaigns and he was happy that she decided to enter electoral politics from Kerala.

“I think Rahulji absolutely had to keep Rae Bareli, it is a very important signal to the people of Uttar Pradesh and of North India in general.

“At the same time, he did not want to feel that he was abandoning the people of Wayanad and it is better to entrust it to his own sister. So I think it is a wonderful decision,” Mr Tharoor said as he travelled through the constituency in an open vehicle, thanking the voters.

He said the same was his preference for the last few weeks, when it was clear that Rahul Gandhi had to choose one or the other.

“I certainly can mention that this was my own preference for some weeks now when it became clear that he had to choose one or the other and I thought it was the right choice and I applaud it wholeheartedly,” Mr Tharoor said.

He said Priyanka Gandhi could have been a wonderful candidate in Varanasi as well, especially looking at how good the Congress candidate did against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I think right now, by winning in Wayanad, which she should do comfortably I believe, she is going to bring a very strong voice to the Parliament. We have all seen her speaking during the election campaign. She is one of the most impressive speakers and campaigners we have got and to have her in the Lok Sabha would be a huge asset to the party,” Mr Tharoor said.

He said it is unfortunate to single out one family and accuse them of ‘parivarvaad’, when this system is ingrained in our culture.

He said according to reports, 15 BJP MPs are from political families and it would be an underestimation as many more would be coming from political families.

“In our culture, dentists want their children to be dentists, artists want their children to be artists and it is there in politics as well,” Mr Tharoor said.

Replying to a question on whether he had given a complaint to AICC, expressing his disappointment over how the Thiruvananthapuram district Congress leaders performed during his election campaign, Mr Tharoor denied it.

“No…no. I have not complained to anyone. We all have done our part, the party workers did their part and we have a victory to speak about,” Mr Tharoor said.

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

New Delhi:

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi was given a shoutout by party leaders including Shashi Tharoor and her husband Robert Vadra after it was announced that she would be contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, a seat previously held by his brother Rahul Gandhi.

Mr Tharoor took to X, proclaiming, “No more doubt, here comes Priyanka.” Robert Vadra echoed this sentiment by sharing the same image with folded hands and a heart emoji.

न शक रहा ना शंका
लो आ गई प्रियंका !#WelcomeToWayanad@INCIndiapic.twitter.com/B9YFMouOhP

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) June 18, 2024

pic.twitter.com/bI0dgvs7HT

— Robert Vadra (@irobertvadra) June 17, 2024

Since her entry into active politics in 2019, Priyanka, 52, has been seen as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly from Varanasi, and as a successor to Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. However, the Congress party has now decided to field her from Kerala’s Wayanad. Rahul Gandhi, who recently decided to vacate the Wayanad seat for Priyanka while retaining Rae Bareli, has expressed confidence in her abilities to carry forward his legacy in Kerala.

“I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad. All I’ll say is that I won’t let them feel his (Rahul’s) absence. I will work hard and try my best to make everybody happy and be a good representative,” Priyanka said.

Her candidacy is seen as a strategic move by the Congress to strengthen its position in a state where the party has performed well in recent elections.

Priyanka’s political journey has been marked by her roles as the general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh and later the entire state. Despite mixed results in the 2019 polls, she continued to bolster the party’s grassroots presence. By December 2023, she had become the Congress’ key strategist and star campaigner for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, contributing significantly to the party’s improved performance, which saw it secure 99 seats, up from 52 in 2019.

Robert Vadra, Priyanka’s husband, who had earlier shown interest in contesting from Amethi, expressed his support as she takes on this new challenge. If Priyanka wins the bypolls, it will mark the first time that three members of the Gandhi family will be in Parliament, with Sonia Gandhi representing Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha.

“I extend my best wishes to Mrs. @priyankagandhi ji on being declared the candidate by the Congress Party from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. I have full faith that the people of Wayanad will bless Priyanka ji wholeheartedly and will make her their voice and send her to Parliament,” Congress leader Sachin Pilot wrote.

Party leader Gaurav Gogoi said, “The voice of the people will resonate much louder with both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi present inside the Parliament.” 

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief K Sudhakaran welcomed Priyanka’s entry into Wayanad, stating, “From now on, two Gandhi voices will rise for Kerala in Parliament! Wayanad is stepping into history.” 

New Delhi:

Following the Congress’s announcement that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad, while Rahul Gandhi will retain the Raebareli seat, former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Chandrashekhar on Monday hit out at the party, alleging that there is “shamelessness” and the party is imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad.

Earlier today, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge announced that Priyanka Gandhi will contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, while her brother and leader Rahul Gandhi will retain the party’s bastion- Raebareli.

Taking to ‘X’, Mr Chandrashekhar wrote, “There is shamelessness and there is Cong type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency.”

There is shamelessness and there is Cong type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency.

This pattern of betrayal is reason why Cong has seen… https://t.co/W6hKnhKMtA

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@RajeevRC_X) June 17, 2024

There is shamelessness and there is Cong type of shamelessness – imposing one member after another of their dynasty on voters of Wayanad – after shamelessly hiding the fact that Rahul was contesting from another constituency.

The BJP leader further alleged that this pattern of betrayal is the reason why the party has witnessed defeat for a consecutive third term.

“This pattern of betrayal is the reason why Cong has seen 3rd poll defeat under Rahul Gandhi”, he said.

The decision of the Congress party came after top party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi held a meeting at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide which Lok Sabha seat Rahul Gandhi would retain.

Rahul Gandhi, who contested from two seats — Rae Bareli and Wayanad, won both constituencies by huge margins.

Rahul Gandhi won the seat of Rae Bareli by defeating BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,90,030 votes. Gandhi had contested this seat aiming to save the lone bastion of the party in the state after he lost Amethi in 2019.

The Congress leader also won the seat of Wayanad, which paved his entry to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Annie Raja by 3,64,422 votes.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi is finally making her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat by keeping the family bastion of the Raebareli seat.

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

New Delhi:

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, widely expected to shoulder the responsibilities of the Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, is not inclined to take up the post, sources in the party have confided. Three senior leaders — Kumari Selja, Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tiwari — are being considered for the job, sources said.

The Opposition will have a leader in the Lok Sabha after a decade following its hugely improved performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Ninety-nine of its 232 seats have come from the Congress, and as the largest party in the Opposition benches, it is expected name the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Yatra was widely cited as the reason for the Congress boost — the party won 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019 — was expected to take more responsibility in parliament. There has been considerable pressure on him from various leaders on this point.

The post would have given him Cabinet rank, help coordinate better with allies in the INDIA bloc and helped the Congress project a strong face by spearheading the Opposition attack on the BJP in the Lok Sabha.

But sources said Mr Gandhi, who even stepped down from the party chief’s post following the rout in 2019, is not keen on it. He has avoided taking up any post since, sources added.

Mr Gandhi has also decided to represent his mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency, Raebareli, in parliament, sources said. An announcement is expected this evening.

He will give up Wayanad, from where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is expected to contest.

The other family bastion in Uttar Pradesh, Amethi, is already back in Congress hands, with long-time Gandhi family aide KL Sharma besting the BJP’s former Union minister Smriti Irani.

Ms Gandhi Vadra had not contested in the general election, choosing instead to focus on campaigning for the party. Sources said she had reservations about all three Gandhis being in parliament, concerned that it would give ammunition to the BJP for its “dynastic politics” allegation. Sonia Gandhi is a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.

New Delhi:

Attacking the Congress party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked if there has been a ‘deal’ in Wayanad to extend the benefit of reservation to the Muslim community.

Asserting that giving religion-based reservations is “unconstitutional”, he accused Congress of snatching reservations from the SC, ST and OBC communities.

In an interview with TV9 Bharatvarsh, PM Modi said, “There is a question in my mind. Has there been a deal in Wayanad, that Muslims will be given a share in the reservation, and in return make us win the seat of Wayanad? The country wants to know this.”

“Today, what is happening, is they (Congress) are finding ways to snatch the reservation for SC, ST and OBC, given to them by the Constitution. They want to give religion-based reservation,” he added.

PM Modi further said that it was decided by the makers of the Constitution that reservation can’t be given on the basis of religion.

“When the Constitution was formed, months of discussion took place. It was discussed between many knowledgeable people whether reservations should be given on a religious basis. It was agreed upon that it can’t be given…now they are trying to give reservation on a religious basis, because of vote bank,” he said.

He also attacked the Congress party over not going to the Pran Pratishtha of Ayodhya Ram Mandir and accused the BJP of asserting their right to the temple.

“Can anyone have a right on the almighty? An ordinary party like the BJP is nothing in front of Lord Ram. Lord Ram should be of everyone. And why do they talk about this? To hide their hidden agenda, which is to maintain their vote bank,” PM Modi said.

“They (Congress) thought, if they went to Ram Mandir, they would lose their vote bank…if you remember Rajiv Gandhi had started his election campaign from Ram Mandir. But then their vote bank asked, ‘If you do this, what is the difference between you and the BJP’. So they ran away. Earlier they used to visit temples, but not now. Because their vote bank had scolded them last time.

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

Ahmedabad:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday claimed major differences on critical issues have cropped up in the INDIA bloc which no longer stands united, and said allies of Congress are against Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad seat in Kerala.

Ms Sitharaman recalled Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s remarks on Mr Gandhi’s candidature and spoke about the nomination of CPI leader D Raja’s wife in Wayanad.

“In the last 10-15 days and before the announcement of his (Gandhi’s) nomination, his alliance partners have been talking against him. Communist Party of India leader D Raja’s wife is contesting from Wayanad even though the party is a partner of the INDI alliance,” the Union minister told a press conference.

The Congress’ alliance partners are against Rahul Gandhi’s nomination from Wayanad, she said while responding to a query on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that “Congress’ sahabzade” will lose from Wayanad and will have to look for a safer seat after that.

Addressing a campaign rally at Nanded in Maharashtra earlier in the day, PM Modi also said the Congress has accepted its defeat even before the Lok Sabha poll results are out.

“Kerala Chief Minister P Vijayan has raised questions over Gandhi’s nomination from Wayanad. The chief minister has also said that Gandhi never raised the issue of Wayanad and Kerala in Parliament in the last five years,” Ms Sitharaman said.

Targeting Mr Gandhi, she said the Congress candidate in Wayanad is refusing to carry his party flag.

“We have to notice one thing after understanding that there are differences in the INDI alliance and Rahul Gandhi does not have much support. The Congress candidate does not want to take the party flag in his rallies because the Muslim League is opposing him, saying you may contest but the flag will be ours,” Ms Sitharaman added.

She claimed the Congress has given up the party flag to contest elections.

“When he (Rahul) can’t even save the (party) flag, can these people who swear on the Constitution be able to save the country?” Ms Sitharaman asked.

The INDI alliance, of which Congress is a member, is not united which was seen in different states and also in the current elections, she said.

“That the Opposition is united as an INDI alliance is no longer a fact,” Ms Sitharaman said when asked about Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy criticising DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on his Sanatan Dharma remark.

She said major differences are cropped up in the INDI alliance, and that too on critical issues.

“Therefore, the alliance has not taken shape, they only show it. The only thing they talk about on a common platform is how to remove Modiji. They do not pay attention to how to take the country forward, what is their proposal for the country’s progress, and what they plan for a developed India in 2047,” Ms Sitharaman said.

She claimed that INDI alliance leaders in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and elsewhere have cases against them.

Ms Sitharaman also targeted All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, saying his political statements are always indecent.

On the Opposition questioning the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Ms Sitharaman said it is no longer a topic worthy of discussion.

“Even the Election Commission has repeatedly proved that the EVM cannot be hacked. The Chief Election Commissioner has said it is a settled case…it has been repeatedly proven,” she said.

Questioning the “hypocrisy” of Congress on EVMs, Ms Sitharaman said, “When it (the poll result) favours Congress, (they say) I will accept EVMs, but when it (the poll outcome) goes in favour of the BJP, I say it is hacked….People are not going to take them seriously when they behave like this”.

The Opposition is “mortally scared” over the BJP coming back to power with a huge majority, she said when asked about the Opposition’s claim that the saffron party will not win more than 150 seats.

“So they have already started a two-fold campaign — creating this narrative that the BJP is not getting more than 150 seats so that people get confused, (but the fact is that) they (Opposition) will not probably cross the 100 mark.

“But look at their audacity. Anyway, people are not going to get confused because of this narrative,” Ms Sitharaman added.

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

Union Minister Smriti Irani, who is defending her seat, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, warned its residents against Congress’s Rahul Gandhi today, saying he has “changed colours” and would try to divide them in the name of religion and caste”.

Speaking to reporters, Ms Irani said she was sure that Mr Gandhi would come to Amethi after April 26.  Wayanad goes to polls that day.

The Congress is yet to name its candidate for Amethi and Raebareli — both Gandhi family strongholds till Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi to Smriti Irani in 2019. He retained his place in parliament due to the victory in Kerala’s Wayanad.

Ms Irani claimed today that Mr Gandhi has “often said Wayanad is his family”.

“People change colours, they change family… He will come to divide us in the name of religion and caste… We have to be aware,” she added.

She also took a dig at Mr Gandhi over his last press conference, saying it was a matter of irony that after spurning the invitation to the consecration of the Ram temple, he had to pay his respects to the deity on Ram Navami.

“He started his Press conference by wishing people on Ram Navmi… The person’s family gave an affidavit about Lord Ram not existing… Look at God’s work — he had to start his press conference by wishing on Ram Navmi,” she told reporters.

“It is a sad thing, that person turned downed invitation for pran pratishta (consecration). What will happen to a person who turns down God? Who was absent after winning, will come after losing,” she said.

Congress’s key leaders — party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi and the party’s senior leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury — had received the invitation for the consecration ceremony and had turned it down. Following their cue, leaders of the Congress had mostly stayed away from the ceremony.

Ms Irani, who has recently bought a house in Amethi, rubbed in the message. Amethi saw progress in last five years “because we were together,” she said. She also pointed to the lack of development in Amethi at a very basic level. “The Amethi which he called family — 4 lakh people didn’t get toilets in that,” she said.  “Today there are toilets in 4 lakh houses,” she added.

New Delhi:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will face Kerala BJP chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanand constituency this Lok Sabha election.

Wayanad, a Congress stronghold, has been with the party since 2009. Mr Gandhi won it in 2019 and retained his Lok Sabha membership, having lost his Amethi seat to Union Minister Smriti Irani.

His rival this time, Mr Surendran, has the significant task of challenging the Congress-Left binary in Kerala’s political landscape. Both the Congress and the Left are in a national alliance though they remain rivals in this southern state.

In 2019 general elections, Mr Surendran finished third in Pathanamthitta constituency behind the Congress and the Left. He had lost the 2016 assembly polls from Manjeswaram by merely 89 votes. He also contested a bypoll in 2019, but lost it as well.

He was appointed to head the BJP Kerala unit in 2020 and became the face of the protests against the entry of young women into Sabarimala years ago.

Mr Surendran, who is from Kozhikode, figured in the BJP’s fifth candidates’ list, which also named actor Kangana Ranaut and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

Wayanad is the second Kerala seat to see a battle of titans after Thiruvananthapuram, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will face the three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The BJP has also fielded former vice-chancellor of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University K S Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and actor-turned-politician G Krishnakumar from Kollam. T N Sarasu, a former educator, will contest from Alathur in Palakkad.

The highlight of the BJP’s fifth list was the electoral debut of actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi in her homestate Himachal Pradesh. The list, which named 111 candidates in 17 states, also featured new joinees like industrialist Naveen Jindal and Mr Gangopadhyay.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP recently after taking voluntary retirement, is the first former judge to join electoral politics. He has been fielded from Tamluk in Bengal and will face Trinamool’s Debangshu Bhattacharya, a youth leader who had penned their iconic “Khela Hobe” anthem.

Varun Gandhi, a sitting MP from Pilibhit, has been dropped and his seat has gone to Jitin Prasada, who switched to the BJP from the Congress in run-up to the election. His mother Maneka Gandhi has been fielded from her current seat, Sultanpur.

Actor Arun Govil, who played Ram in popular TV series Ramayan, will contest from Meerut. Union ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and General VK Singh too were part of the list.