Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will likely make her electoral debut from the party's Uttar Pradesh stronghold of Raebareli - a seat won thrice by ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi - sources told NDTV Wednesday. Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, may return to the Congress' other UP stronghold - Amethi - which he lost in a shock defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party's Smriti Irani in 2019.
Mr Gandhi will also fight from his current seat of Wayanad in Kerala; victory here had allowed him to retain his Lok Sabha status after the last election.
Priyanka Gandhi's Big Ticket Debut
There has always been a 'will she, won't she' air about Ms Gandhi Vadra and elections. Before 2019 she set tongues wagging after quipping "why not", when asked if she would contest from Varanasi - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bastion.
READ | "Why Not Varanasi," Quips Priyanka Gandhi On Poll Fight Request
Ahead of this election there was similar speculation.
READ | Nitish Kumar, Priyanka's Names Proposed For This Big Challenge
Her entry now comes after her mother, ex-party boss Sonia Gandhi - said she would not seek re-election from Raebareli, a seat she has won five times in the past, including in 2019.
In that election she was the sole Congress leader to win a UP Lok Sabha seat.
Mrs Gandhi's Lok Sabha-to-Rajya Sabha shift - she has been elected from Rajasthan - was supposed to signal a shift in party leadership before the general election.
READ | After Sonia Gandhi's Rajya Sabha Shift, Buzz Around Raebareli
As she did so, she made an emotional appeal to Raebareli's voters, which has been won by a member of the Gandhi family in all but three general elections since independence.
READ | "Hope You Will Be With My Family": Sonia Gandhi To Raebareli Voters
After the Congress confirmed Sonia Gandhi's withdrawal from Raebareli, there was speculation Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - whose resemblance to Indira Gandhi, her grandmother, had not gone unnoticed in the constituency - would finally contest an election.
READ | "Raebareli Calling": Posters Backing Priyanka In Congress Bastion
There were even posters in Raebareli this week urging the Congress to name Ms Gandhi Vadra as its candidate for the prestigious seat. "Take Congress' development work forward, Raebareli is calling... Priyanka Gandhiji, please come," the posters said. The Congress has now responded to that call.
Rahul vs Smriti, Amethi 3.0
In 2019, Smriti Irani beat Rahul Gandhi by 55,000-odd votes for one of the biggest upsets of the election. The BJP has allowed her to defend the seat and, last week, she challenged Mr Gandhi.
READ | Smriti Irani's "Let Him Fight From Amethi" Dare To Rahul
"In 2019 he left Amethi. Today Amethi has left him. If he is confident then, without going to Wayanad... let him fight from Amethi," she told NDTV, as Mr Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered the constituency. "Empty roads tell us what people feel about Rahul Gandhi."
What Are The BJP's Plans?
The BJP has not yet announced its Raebareli candidate; in 2019 the party fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh, who slumped to defeat by over 1.8 lakh votes in the constituency.
The party has, however, confirmed that Ms Irani will defend her Amethi seat, setting up the first of two blockbuster contests in the politically significant state of Uttar Pradesh.
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