With months left for the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress finally brokered a seat-sharing agreement with one of its INDIA bloc allies — the Samajwadi Party — on Thursday. As per the pact, the Congress will fight from 17 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 seats while the Akhilesh Yadav-led party will decide on who contests the remaining 63 constituencies.
Among the seats which the Congress got in the seat-sharing pact are Raebareli and Amethi, which have traditionally been the bastions of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
For the Congress, getting their traditional seats as part of the seat-sharing deal is a no-brainer. But it also opens up the possibility of a rematch between former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Smriti Irani, who defeated the Congress scion on the same seat in the 2019 general elections.
While neither the Congress nor Rahul Gandhi has confirmed speculation about him re-contesting from Amethi, the Congress scion may return to try regaining his former Lok Sabha constituency which he represented for 15 years till 2019.
WHY AMETHI MATTERS FOR CONGRESS?
Amethi has been a Congress bastion since 1967. Barring the last five years, some in the 1970s and the late 1990s, the constituency has always voted either for the Nehru-Gandhi family or a loyalist.
Sanjay Gandhi won the Amethi seat in 1980. After his death, his brother and Rahul’s father Rajiv won the Amethi bypoll in 1981 and represented the seat till 1991. His wife Sonia Gandhi became MP from Amethi in 1999, after which her son Rahul Gandhi took over the seat in 2004 and represented it till 2019.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi contested from Wayanad besides Amethi, and won. This helped him get a ticket to the Lower House despite a humiliating loss at the hands of Smriti Irani on his ‘home turf’.
For the Congress, Amethi has been more than just a constituency. It has been a bastion, deeply woven into the fabric of the Congress’s legacy.
Rahul Gandhi’s loss to Smriti Irani in 2019 by a margin of over 55,000 votes was a significant blow to the party. It marked the end of an era and challenged the Congress’s stronghold in what was considered a safe seat.
WILL RAHUL GANDHI CONTEST FROM AMETHI AGAIN?
On Monday, February 19, Rahul Gandhi turned up in Amethi during the Uttar Pradesh leg of his ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. This was only the third time in five years that Rahul Gandhi landed in Amethi.
A large number of people were seen at his public event in the district. Addressing the people, Rahul Gandhi said that since the last Bharat Jodo Yatra did not pass through the area, this time he brought the yatra to Amethi.
“I have come to Amethi. We have a long-standing relationship, one of love. I thank you all from the heart,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was accompanying Rahul Gandhi, also highlighted the relationship of the Gandhi-Nehru clan with Amethi.
“The whole world knows Amethi. Every countryman is proud of Amethi. Because this is the land of service and devotion of our beloved former Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi ji, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi ji and Rahul Gandhi ji,” said Kharge.
In the very next sentence, Kharge hinted at Rahul Gandhi’s anticipated return to his old constituency.
“Rahul Gandhi ji has a deep connection with Amethi. He is with you even today and will always be with you,” said Kharge.
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh also recently said while the decision to contest from Amethi lies with Congress’s Central Election Committee and Rahul Gandhi himself, the people of the district want their “Rahul Bhaiya” back.
“People understand that they made a mistake in 2019 and they want Rahul Gandhi back. It is her (Smriti Irani) democratic right to challenge and we are not running away from any challenge. If Rahul Gandhi decides to contest elections from here (Amethi), he will contest the elections. People are saying that they made a mistake in 2019 and Rahul Bhaiya should contest elections from here (Amethi) and he will win,” news agency ANI quoted Jairam Ramesh as saying.
But this is not the first time that the Congress leaders have wished for Rahul Gandhi’s return to Amethi. And there are reasons why they want him to contest from Amethi again.
After the Congress’s drubbing at the hands of the BJP in 2019, Rahul Gandhi shifted his focus to southern states. Due to this, the Congress units in the cow belt, especially in Uttar Pradesh, have been disgruntled as the party has lost popular support.
Even as the Congress gave Priyanka Gandhi Vadra a more central role in the region, and many credited her for delivering success through Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, the absence of the party’s most recognisable face meant the cadre was demotivated and people lost connection with the leadership.
In August last year, Congress’s Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai claimed that Rahul Gandhi would contest from Amethi in the Lok Sabha elections. Rai had made the same remarks the previous year too, but these comments were more hopeful than ambitious.
NOT AN EASY ROAD FOR RAHUL GANDHI’S RETURN TO AMETHI
If Rahul Gandhi eventually decides to contest from Amethi, he will be facing Smriti Irani in a poll battle for the third time.
In their first direct contest in Amethi in 2014, Smriti Irani lost to Rahul Gandhi by 1.07 lakh votes. However, she didn’t give up and frequently visited the constituency to win the goodwill of people.
When the dates of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections were announced, Smriti Irani camped in Amethi for a month. Calling it her “home”, she promised to build a permanent house there in a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, who used to stay at the Mushiganj guest house whenever he visited the constituency.
After she defeated Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections, Smriti Irani kept returning to Amethi and bought land in 2021 to build her home there.
Incidentally, Smriti Irani too was in Amethi on Monday, the day Rahul Gandhi entered the area with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra convoy. The Union Minister will also perform the ‘griha pravesh’ of her home in Amethi on Thursday.
In Amethi, Smriti Irani dared Rahul Gandhi to contest from the constituency in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Rahul Gandhi considered Amethi as the centre of power but did not provide service, that is why he was welcomed by the deserted streets of Amethi. Congress workers who welcomed Rahul Gandhi did not participate in his yatra due to which the Congress had to call workers from Sultanpur and Pratapgarh,” Irani said.
“Amethi’s former MP insulted the people of Amethi in Wayanad. Amethi was distressed due to this. Ram Lalla’s invitation was rejected by him and his family. Amethi is distressed due to this also,” she said, adding, “I dare him (Rahul) to contest from Amethi alone in the Lok Sabha elections.”
For the BJP, Amethi is a symbol of its ability to dismantle the dynastic stronghold of the Congress. Smriti Irani’s victory in 2019 was not just a win for the BJP but a statement that no seat, no matter how historically significant to the opposition, is beyond their reach.
For the BJP, retaining Amethi in 2024 is crucial to solidify this message and further distance the seat from the Gandhi family’s legacy.
The saffron party has been proactive in highlighting the developmental projects and the work done by Smriti Irani as the Member of Parliament in Amethi, aiming to strengthen its connection with the voters and present a case for continuity.
In this year’s Lok Sabha elections, the Congress aims to reclaim Amethi and restore its lost glory in northern India. The party’s efforts are evident in its groundwork and the symbolic importance it places on Rahul Gandhi contesting from Amethi once again, signalling a fight not just for a seat but for reclaiming its historical political home.
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