Congress to Exit Family Bastions? Revanth Reddy Urges Sonia To Contest LS Polls From Telangana

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: After buzz over veteran Congress leader and former party president, Sonia Gandhi, quitting electoral politics, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has urged her to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Telangana. 

Telangana CM and state party president Revanth Reddy met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday and urged the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson to contest from Telangana’s Khammam seat. 

In the meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Revanth Reddy underlined that the Telangana Congress unit has passed a resolution urging Sonia Gandhi to contest from Telangana this time. Gandhi has responded by saying that a decision would be taken at an appropriate time. Revanth Reddy was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and state Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. 

Revanth made a similar request to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi when he joined the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Ranchi, said reports. 

Congress to Exit Family Bastions- Amethi, Rae Bareli  

Revanth Reddy’s request comes at a time when speculations are rife that Sonia Gandhi may take up to the Rajya Sabha route this time. Sources have said that Sonia Gandhi was planning to quit electoral politics, however, there has been no official word from the Congress party yet. 

Sonia Gandhi is the MP from Raebareli- the seat she has been contesting since 2004. After BJP wrested Amethi from Rahul Gandhi in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rae Bareli is the lone Congress sitting seat in 2024 elections. 

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, Congress drew a blank in both the ‘Gandhi family seats’- Amethi and Rae Bareli. It was said that earlier said that even if the Congress party has not been in government, the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats will always connect the party to the state through the Gandhi family.  However in the 2022 assembly election, Congress won 0 seats out of a total 10 assembly seats in the two districts. 

Aditi Singh to play ‘Irani’ in Rae Bareli 

In the 2017 assembly elections, while the BJP dominated the Congress bastions, the party successfully won Rae Bareli assembly seat and Harchandpur, just to lose it to the BJP in the next elections. 

In 2017, Aditi Singh, a second generation politician, the daughter of the late Akhilesh Singg, had secured Rae Bareli for the Congress party. However, she switched to the BJP and contested the 2022 election on a BJP ticket. Observers suggest that the BJP may elevate Aditi Singh an field her in the upcoming general elections from Rae Bareli.