Jubilant scenes unfolded in Raebareli as Congress workers celebrated Rahul Gandhi's decision to retain his Lok Sabha seat. The atmosphere was charged with excitement as party supporters burst crackers and gathered in large numbers to mark the occasion. The announcement of Gandhi's decision brought a wave of joy and relief to the Congress cadres in Raebareli, a stronghold of the Gandhi family. Supporters took to the streets, chanting slogans in praise of their leader and expressing their enthusiasm with vibrant displays of fireworks.
The Congress Monday announced that party MP Rahul Gandhi will retain Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh and vacate Wayanad in Kerala, from where party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut. Rahul had won both seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and is required to vacate one of them. While he defeated BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh to win Rae Bareli by 3,90,030 votes, he won Wayanad by 3,64,422 votes, defeating CPI’s Annie Raja.The Raebareli seat was held by Sonia Gandhi since 2004 until she moved to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.
Cementing its status as a Gandhi family bastion is the fact that it was also represented by Rahul Gandhi's grandmother and former PM Indira Gandhi, and her husband Feroze Gandhi. Party leaders added that it was the best solution as Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to Wayanad after the election, had said that his decision (on the seats) will make both Raebareli and Wayanad happy. Congress leaders argued that Rahul’s decision was in sync with the larger goal of the Congress to improve its strike rate in northern India, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. While Rahul’s presence in Raebareli is no guarantee for party’s revival in the Hindi-belt, it brings a regional balance in the party where Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary organisation KC Venugopal and the chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh hail from south India.