Rae Bareli: Is Rahul Gandhi getting married? What Congress MP told crowd in ‘Maa’s karma-bhoomi’
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Rahul Gandhi's sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present at the rally in Rae Bareli.
Rahul Gandhi, the Congress candidate from Rae Bareli in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, delivered an impassioned speech at a rally in the Uttar Pradesh constituency on Monday, May 13. Amid the serious tone of the event, there were lighthearted moments as well, with the crowd teasing Rahul Gandhi about his marital status and asking him when he plans to tie the knot.
“Ab jaldi hi karni padegi (now, I will have to get married soon),” Rahul Gandhi responded with a smile when asked when he was getting married. Follow Live Updates on Lok Sabha elections 2024
Rahul Gandhi's sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present at the rally in Rae Bareli. The Congress, on May 3, announced Rahul Gandhi as a candidate from Rae Bareli and loyalist KL Sharma from Amethi, keeping Priyanka Gandhi as well as Robert Vadra out of the electoral contest.
Rae Bareli- a Gandhi bastion
Sonia Gandhi contested and won Amethi in 1999 before passing the baton on to Rahul in 2004. Before Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had won Raebareli thrice. The constituency also elected Indira's husband and Congress leader Feroze Gandhi twice, in 1952 and 1957. Follow full coverage of Lok Sabha elections 2024
In an emotional speech Rae Bareli's Maharajganj, Rahul Gandhi said, “...Ours is a 100-year-old relationship with Rae Bareli. A few days ago when I was sitting with my mother, I told her that I said in a video that I have two mothers - Sonia ji and Indira ji. My mother did not like this, but I explained to her that a mother is the one who shows the path to the child and also protects her. Both my mother and Indira Ji did this for me. This is the 'karma-bhoomi' of both my mothers. This is the reason I have come to contest from Rae Bareli.”
Rahul Gandhi also alleged that for the first time in Indian history, "BJP-RSS people want to end our Constitution. Their leaders have clearly said that if they come to power they will change the Constitution..."
Reaching out to farmers, the Congress MP said, “...I promise that if the Congress-INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre, my first job will be to waive off loans of poor farmers.”
Rahul Gandhi is a sitting MP in Kerala's Wayanad, where he is seeking a fresh term alongside Rae Bareli. Rahul represented Amethi from 2004 until 2019. He will face Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh of BJP in Rae Bareli.
Rae Bareli constituency goes to the polls on May 20 in the fifth phase. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi won the constituency, bagging 5,34,918 votes. Her closest rival, Dinesh Pratap Singh, put up a formidable challenge, gathering 3,67,740 votes.
(With inputs from agencies)
