Rahul Gandhi has won from Rae Bareli and Gandhi family aide Kishor Lal Sharma from Amethi. The family sees it as a sweet revenge. Smriti Irani had snatched the seat from Rahul Gandhi in 2019 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never let the Gandhi family forget that their legacy has been damaged. Sources say that when the time came to decide who would contest against her in 2024, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had told some insiders: “A non-Gandhi will defeat her. A party worker should defeat her.”
This explains why Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide and manager of Amethi and Rae Bareli, was chosen to take on Irani. The Rae Bareli win is not really a surprise as there could be many factors working for Rahul Gandhi. Undoubtedly, there is a strong Indira Gandhi legacy, which is almost intact. Then, with the exit of Sonia Gandhi, where she enjoys goodwill, it makes sense to accept her son as the successor. And of course, like Amethi, the BJP has not fielded a strong face.
For the Congress, winning Amethi is a bigger victory than Rae Bareli. Sharma, KL as he is called, is a low-profile leader. But today he is proud to have defeated the giant killer. In the Lok Sabha, he will sit next to Rahul Gandhi as a fellow MP. And every time he sits, it will be a moment for the Congress to attack the PM and remind him that the family is back in business in their region. How did the Congress pull off the win in Amethi? It was not easy. Though KL was chosen, it was difficult to convince party workers, who were hopeful of Gandhi’s candidature, that KL should be supported.
But it is also a fact that Irani was facing some non-cooperation from the party cadre, which she was complaining about, which is why it was difficult for her to move forward. This is why Home Minister Amit Shah had to intervene and conduct a road show. Clearly, this was not enough. The victory in Rae Bareli also comes with a headache. According to the rules, Gandhi can retain only one seat. Will he leave Rae Bareli? And if he does, who will contest the by-election? Since the Kerala elections are not far away, it would not be wise for Gandhi to leave Wayanad. That is, Rae Bareli could be in trouble. And even if Priyanka contests the by-election, it could complicate matters for the Gandhi family and the Congress in UP.
This will further strengthen the argument of the BJP that the Gandhi family is not serious about the areas which are considered star constituencies. The Congress hopes that the victory in Amethi will put an end to this story. According to the Congress, it has got the story back from them. But more importantly, the Gandhi family can smile peacefully as their area is now back in their fold. Apart from Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has won in Allahabad, Sitapur, Barabanki and Saharanpur. The major reason for this is being attributed to the strategy of the Congress. The Congress contested on 17 seats in the state. Although initially its alliance with the Samajwadi Party was not possible. But the party thought it better to contest on 17 seats keeping in view the future politics. Rahul Gandhi campaigned in UP along with Akhilesh Yadav. Priyanka Gandhi herself took charge in Amethi and Rae Bareli.
