Priyanka Gandhi's Possible Lok Sabha Polls 2024 Withdrawal: What's The Scoop?

Reports suggest that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is unlikely to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, according to top sources within the grand-old party, as cited by a media report on Thursday.

It has been indicated by sources within the Congress that Priyanka Gandhi, the party's general secretary, is deemed as "very unlikely" to participate in the Lok Sabha polls.

Photo Credit: PTI

Priyanka Gandhi's Lok Sabha Polls 2024 Withdrawal - Here's what we know

Amid speculations that Priyanka was expected to make her electoral debut from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, a stronghold of the Gandhis, following her mother and sitting MP Sonia Gandhi's decision to contest the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

The likelihood of Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Raebareli had gained momentum after Sonia Gandhi addressed a letter to the people of her Raebareli constituency, hinting at the possibility of handing over the reins of the Gandhi stronghold to her daughter Priyanka.

However, as of Thursday evening, there has been no official confirmation from the Congress. The party's top brass is currently holding a meeting of the Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) in the national capital to finalize candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, as reported by India TV.

The CEC meeting is being attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, and general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, along with other senior leaders who are part of the Congress' poll panel.

During the meeting, the Congress is expected to finalize candidates for various states including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, and Manipur.

As of now, the Congress has not declared any candidate. Last week, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. According to Congress sources, the party is likely to announce its first list of candidates soon, allowing them to kickstart their poll campaign.

Speculations have been circulating regarding Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's from Rae Bareli, a constituency previously held by Sonia Gandhi. Both seats are considered bastions of the Gandhi family, and the local units of the Congress have demanded that the two scions of the Congress first family should contest from there, as reported by India TV.

Rahul Gandhi, who previously served as an MP from Amethi, lost the seat in 2019 but won from Wayanad in Kerala. Meanwhile, several state units of the Congress have already conducted meetings of their respective screening committees and have forwarded the list of probable candidates in their states.

The committee, chaired by party president Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi, also includes Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, Ambika Soni, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, T S Singhdeo, and Mohammad Jawaid, among others.