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India’s Rahul Gandhi taunted by Modi for not contesting seat lost in 2019 – ‘he’s scared’

  • Rahul Gandhi will be contesting in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, a traditional stronghold of his family, and vying to retain Wayanad in Kerala
  • PM Narendra Modi has attacked Gandhi’s decision, saying he is ‘scared to fight’ in Amethi against BJP’s Smriti Irani again

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Senior Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi greets his supporters in Amethi, India, on May 3. Photo: AFP

A surprise decision by Congress Party ex-president Rahul Gandhi to contest in a key constituency in India’s Uttar Pradesh state for the first time has prompted speculation on whether it is a masterstroke by him or a sign of low confidence in the party’s prospects in the country’s ongoing elections.

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Cheered on by Congress supporters, the de facto opposition leader on Friday filed his nomination papers to seek a second parliamentary seat in Rae Bareli instead of the nearby constituency of Amethi, where he lost to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections.

In the previous elections, Congress won 52 seats, compared with the BJP’s 303 seats in the 543-member parliament’s lower house.

Besides Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi is seeking to retain his seat in the Wayanad constituency in the southern state of Kerala.

If the politician wins from both constituencies, he will have to resign from one of the seats where elections would be held again under Indian laws.

Rahul Gandhi filing his nomination papers in Rae Bareli, India’s Uttar Pradesh state, on May 03. Photo: INC/EPA-EFE
Rahul Gandhi filing his nomination papers in Rae Bareli, India’s Uttar Pradesh state, on May 03. Photo: INC/EPA-EFE

Hours before Rahul Gandhi’s announcement, Indian television channels were abuzz with speculation that he would file his papers to run in Amethi and his younger sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would contest in Rae Bareli.

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