Is Priyanka Vadra set to replace Sonia Gandhi as Congress candidate in Rae Bareilly in 2019 Lok Sabha election? Decision soon, say sources

NEW DELHI: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will continue to contest from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, sources have told news agency ANI. However, the bigger piece of information that the sources shared indicated that Priyanka Vadra may replace her mother, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, as the Congress candidate in Rae Bareilly.

New agency ANI attributed sources to confirm that Rahul Gandhi would contest from the Amethi constituency for the fourth consecutive time. He had first contested from this seat in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, and retained his seat in the elections of 2009 and 2014.

Amethi is considered a pocket borough of the Nehru-Gandhi political clan. It is the seat from which four members of the family have made their political debuts. Rahul's uncle, Sanjay Gandhi, first fought from the seat unsuccessfully in the post-Emergency 1977 Lok Sabha elections, and won in 1980. After his death, Rahul's father, Rajiv Gandhi took over from his brother and won the seat in 1981, 1984 and 1989. Rajiv also won the seat in 1991, after his assassination.

Rahul's mother and previous Congress chief, Sonia Gandhi, too chose to make her electoral entry with this seat in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. She left the seat to Rahul and has won from Rae Bareilly in the 2004, 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

But given her health troubles that led to her handing over control of the party to her son, the sources told ANI that a decision would be made if Sonia would give up a second seat for a second child. Priyanka Vadra's entry into active politics has been a matter of speculation in Congress circles for well over a decade.

Priyanka has often campaigned for the party, but has confined her role primarily to Amethi and Rae Bareilly, which were represented by her mother and brother.

Congress cadre have often played on Priyanka’s perceived resemblance to Indira Gandhi, her grandmother and former prime minister. Indira fought elections five times – 1967, 1971, 1977, 1978 and 1980 – and she contested from Rae Bareilly each times there was a general election. She won the seat thrice, losing famously in the post-Emergency 1977 election, after which she won from the Chikmaglur seat in a bye-election in 1978.

The sources also said the Congress would not seek an alliance with the Shiv Sena, ANI reported. The rationale for staying away from the Maratha chauvinist party was ideological differences, according to the source.

The Shiv Sena received a shock result in the 2014 election, when it was replaced by the BJP as the senior alliance partner in Maharashtra. It has taken strongly critical lines against the Narendra Modi government while continuing to maintain ties with the BJP.

The sources also told ANI that the Congress had decided not to announce Chief Ministerial candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, all of which head to Assembly elections by the end of 2018.

(With inputs from ANI)