Message from Rae Bareli, Amethi: Rahul Gandhi de-risks, Priyanka still in waiting

The suspense is over — it is Rahul Gandhi, not Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is contesting from Rae Bareli, the seat their mother Sonia Gandhi represented five times since 2004 until she entered Rajya Sabha a month ago. And it is party karyakarta Kishori Lal Sharma who will face BJP’s Smriti Irani in Amethi.

Clearly, Rahul Gandhi did not want to risk a defeat for the second time in what has been a Gandhi fiefdom since 1980. For, it would send a message about his leadership to the party cadre, to Uttar Pradesh, the Gandhi family’s karmabhoomi, and the country. Of course, Amethi is tougher of the two constituencies with Irani, though she faces anti-incumbency, a formidable foe. Priyanka, it is being argued in the party, decided not to contest because she will be required to campaign all over the country. It is possible that she may be brought into the Lok Sabha from the constituency that Rahul decides to vacate if he wins both Rae Bareli and Wayanad.

And yet, having taken the plunge into active politics in 2019, and she is 52 years old — Rahul is fighting his fifth election — it is surprising that she is not making her electoral debut even in 2024. It is also being argued that her standing for elections would have given the BJP additional firepower to attack the Congress for furthering dynastic politics with three members of the Gandhi family in Parliament — the assumption being that “three” is a crowd as compared to the existing “two”. Priyanka has been taking on BJP and Narendra Modi, sometimes even more effectively than Rahul, and will be the target of BJP attack as a member of the dynasty, whether she is inside or outside Parliament.

The “two “versus “three” dilemma had reportedly surfaced also in 2004 when it was decided