Hours before the deadline for filing nominations, the Congress announced on Friday morning that it would field its former president Rahul Gandhi from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli constituency, and Gandhi family loyalist K.L. Sharma from Amethi, ending the long suspense over who would contest from the family’s stronghold.
Though this brings Mr. Gandhi back into the battle for the Hindi heartland, it evoked a wide range of responses, from Congress leaders terming it a masterstroke, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders accusing him of “running away”.
Mr. Gandhi — accompanied by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, his mother Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, brother-in-law Robert Vadra, and party general secretary K.C. Venugopal — filed his nomination for the seat, describing it as an “emotional” moment. His mother Ms. Gandhi had held the seat till February, when she resigned after winning a Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan.
