Amid the buzz of Congress general secretary Priyanka Vadra’s likely candidature from Raebareli in 2024, posters reading, “Raebareli pukarti, Priyanka Gandhi ji aaye [Raebareli calls, Priyanka Gandhi to come]” surfaced in intersections of Raebareli on March 6, asking the former Uttar Pradesh Congress In-charge to carry forward the development works of the grand-old-party in the constituency represented previously by her mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The posters have been put up by one Rishabh Raghvendra Vajpayee, a former student leader and resident of Raebareli
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Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said it was the desire of the people from Raebareli to see Ms. Vadra representing the Congress bastion. “It is the desire of the common voters of Raebareli that Priyanka Ji represent them in the Lok Sabha as the Gandhi family shares an emotional bond with the constituency and the mood is reflected through these gestures by voters. We [Uttar Pradesh Congress] also want Priyanka Ji to fight from Raebareli, but the final decision is up to her,” Mr. Rai told The Hindu.
The demand for Ms. Vadra to contest from the seat increased after Ms. Gandhi announced last month that she won’t contest the polls citing “health and age-related issues”. “‘After this decision, I will not have the opportunity to serve you directly but my heart and soul will always remain with you,” wrote Ms. Gandhi in an open letter to the people of Raebareli.
On February 19, Ms. Gandhi was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Ms. Gandhi represented the Raebareli seat four times in the Lok Sabha and won by a margin of over 1,67,000 votes in 2019 defeating Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP.