NEW DELHI: Calling it a chess move,
Congress
on Friday said that
Rahul Gandhi
‘s candidature from Uttar Pradesh’s
Rae Bareli
for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is a decision, taken after long discussions, not based on ‘inheritance’ but responsibility and duty.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took to X, formerly Twitter, to explain the party’s decision of picking the star campaigner from Bareilly and said that Rahul’s connection with the people extends beyond Amethi and Rae Bareli, as the Gandhi family enjoys support throughout the country.
“Many people have many opinions on the news of Rahul Gandhi contesting elections from Rae Bareli. Remember, he is an experienced player of politics and chess. The party leadership takes its decisions after much discussion, and as part of a larger strategy. This single decision has befuddled the BJP, its supporters, and its sycophants. The BJP’s self-proclaimed Chanakya, who used to talk about ‘paramparagat seat’ is now not sure how to respond,” said Ramesh.
Calling the Bareilly seat a responsibility, Ramesh added, “Rae Bareli has been the seat not only of Sonia ji but also of Indira Gandhi herself. It is not an inheritance; it is a responsibility and a duty.”
Rahul, who represented Amethi from 2004 to 2014, has been elected as an MP three times from Uttar Pradesh and once from Kerala. “Today, Smriti Irani’s only identity is that she contests elections from Amethi against Rahul Gandhi. Now, her political relevance is over,” he wrote, adding that she will now be compelled to speak on development issues instead of ‘making meaningless statements.’
Ramesh also trained his guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, “Why has the Prime Minister been unable to muster the courage to contest an election from a single seat below the Vindhyas?”
Congress picked Kishori Lal Sharma for Amethi, the constituency that has not seen a non-Gandhi contender in 25 years. “Yesterday, an eminent journalist was sarcastically asking a ground worker of the Congress Party in Amethi, “When will it be your turn to get tickets?” Here it is! A common Congress worker will break the arrogance of the BJP in Amethi,” said Ramesh.
Justifying Priyanka’s absence from contenders list despite buzz, Ramesh said, “Priyanka ji is campaigning vigorously and is single-handedly silencing Narendra Modi’s lies. The way she responded to the canards that the PM was spreading on the abolition of estate duty in March 1985 was a stinging rebuke. That is why it was important that she should not be limited to just one constituency. She is campaigning across the country.”
“This is a long election. There are a few chess moves still left to play. Let’s wait for a bit,” Ramesh added.
Amethi and Rae Bareli will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth of the seven-phase general election.
