In an emotional letter to the people of her constituency, Rae Bareli, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi informed them that health concerns and age would not allow her to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
In the letter written on February 14 but released on Thursday, Ms. Gandhi also subtly hinted the possible entry of a family member from the seat that has been a bastion of the Gandhi family.
“I am proud to say that whatever I am today, I am because of you and I have always done my best to honour your trust. Now, on account of health and age issues, I will not contest the next Lok Sabha election,” Ms. Gandhi said in her letter.
“After this decision, I will not have the opportunity to serve you directly but my heart and soul will always remain with you. I know that you will stand by me and my family in future, just as you have in the past,” the 77-year-old leader added.
Shift to Rajya Sabha
After Ms. Gandhi’s move to shift to the Rajya Sabha, there is speculation that her daughter and Congress general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, could contest from the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh this time.
“My family in Delhi is incomplete without you. It completes when I come to Rae Bareli and meet all of you. My ties with you are very old. I have inherited these ties as a good fortune from my in-laws,” she said.
The CPP chairperson noted that that Rae Bareli sent her father-in-law Feroze Gandhi to the Lok Sabha in the first general election held after Independence, and later mother-in-law and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“I came to you after losing my mother-in-law and husband and you accepted me with open arms,” she said, adding, ”I can never forget your staunch support for me through the adverse circumstances in the last two Lok Sabha elections”.
Ms. Gandhi will be the second member of the Gandhi family to enter the Rajya Sabha after Indira Gandhi who was a member of the Upper House from 1964 to 1967.
