New Delhi, April 27: Congress will hold a Central Election Committee (CEC) today to discuss candidates for highly anticipated seats in Uttar Pradesh--Raebareli and Amethi. According to party sources, leaders of the UP Congress and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of UP, Avinash Pandey, have also been called for a meeting today.
Earlier, a proposal was given from the UP Congress to the CEC that the Gandhi family should contest the Amethi and Raibareli seats and the decision was left to the CEC and top leadership. A senior party functionary told ANI that the situation is very good and they are very positive for the proposal to be considered in a true spirit. There is a high chance that Congress can announce Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi as their candidates for the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats respectively.
Smriti Irani defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi. Irani has again been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party from the seat. Notably, the businessman-husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had earlier expressed his desire to contest from the Amethi parliamentary seat, has said that the entire country wishes for him to get into active politics. He also said that Smriti Irani, the sitting MP from Amethi has not fulfilled her promises.
"The voice is coming from the entire country. They want me to get into active politics as I have always been among the people of the country. People always want me to be there in their region. I have campaigned there (Amethi) since 1999. Smriti Irani, the sitting MP from hasn't fulfilled her promises," Vadra said on Friday when asked whether he would contest from Amethi Lok Sabha seat.
Rae Bareli has been a Congress bastion since 1960 with both Feroze Gandhi and Indira Gandhi having represented it. Sonia Gandhi has been the MP from the constituency since she won the 2006 by-poll. With Sonia moving to the upper house, the Congress is likely to field Priyanka Gandhi who is the general secretary in the party. Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20.