Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has decided to give up Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and will retain his family bastion of Raebareli.
Which he won in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Monday. His sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will make her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat, Kharge added.
Notably, Rahul Gandhi secured victories in both the Lok Sabha seats he contested — Wayanad in Kerala and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh — with impressive margins in the general elections.
The decision was announced during a press conference after Congress’ top leadership held discussions at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi.
As per rules, Rahul Gandhi had to vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the Lok Sabha results, which came out on June 4. Now that Rahul Gandhi has chosen to stay in Raebareli, his sister Priyanka will contest from the vacated seat of Wayanad in the bypoll.
“Rahul Gandhi won from two Lok Saba seats but as per the law, he has to vacate one. Rahul Gandhi will retain Rae Bareli and we have decided that Priyanka ji will fight from Wayanad,” Kharge said while making the announcement.
After the decision, Rahul Gandhi said both Raebareli and Wayanad would get two MPs, assuring that the Gandhi siblings will frequently visit both the constituencies.
“Priyanka Gandhi is going to fight the elections and I am confident that she is going to win the elections. The people of Wayanad can think that they have 2 members of the Parliament, one is my sister and the other is me. My doors are always open for the people of Wayanad, I love every single person in Wayanad,” he said.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi said that she would not let the people of Wayanad feel Rahul’s absence.
“I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel his (Rahul Gandhi’s) absence. I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative. I have a very old relationship with Raebareli and Amethi and it cannot be broken. I will also help my brother in Raebareli. We will both be present in Raebareli and Wayanad,” she said.