Varun Gandhi Refuses BJP's Offer To Contest Raebareli Seat: Sources

It has been reported by sources that BJP MP Varun Gandhi has opted out of a potential poll contest against his cousin Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat. The BJP was keen on fielding Varun Gandhi from Raebareli, which has been a Congress stronghold since 2004, reported by India Today citing sources.

On Wednesday, Congress sources suggested that there is a strong possibility that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could contest the seat. The Raebareli seat was previously held by her mother, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, since 2004 before she was elected to the Rajya Sabha in February this year.

Varun Gandhi Refuses BJP's Offer: Here's what we know so far

Amid such speculations, Varun Gandhi was approached by the BJP to contest against his cousin, but he opted out of the Raebareli poll battle, as per sources. It has been said by sources close to the BJP leader that Varun Gandhi wishes to stay away from the kind of spotlight that a 'Gandhi vs Gandhi' contest would attract, as reported by India Today.

Varun Gandhi, who is the sitting MP from Pilibhit, was dropped by the BJP from the Pilibhit poll for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and former minister Jitin Prasada was fielded on the seat.

Afterwards, an open letter was written by Varun Gandhi to the people of Pilibhit stating that he would continue to be a son of the land. His mother, Maneka Gandhi, a long-time Parliamentarian, was fielded again by the BJP from the Sultanpur seat in Uttar Pradesh.

It was reportedly conducted by the BJP several surveys and polls to see who would pose a stiff challenge to the Gandhis in Raebareli. The seat has remained a Congress bastion, even before Sonia Gandhi started representing it in 2004. The Raebareli seat was won multiple times by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1967 to 1984, as reported by India Today.

Other members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, including Arun Nehru and Sheila Kaul, had also won the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat. While control of another Gandhi stronghold, Amethi was wrested away by the BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the capture of Raebareli has been unsuccessful ever since the NDA came to power.

However, it has been seen by the BJP that Sonia Gandhi's vote share has been falling since 2014 when compared to the previous elections. There was an 8.43 per cent dip in the vote share compared to the 2009 results in 2014, and in 2019, it dropped a further 8 per cent.

This has emboldened the BJP, and the party has been trying to dent the Congress organization on the ground in Raebareli for a while, starting with the defection of Raebareli Sadar MLA Aditi Singh. She joined the BJP after leaving Congress in 2021 and retained her seat in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, as per media reports.

Meanwhile, it has been indicated by sources in Congress that the party will not make any formal announcement on the candidates for Raebareli and Amethi before April 30. The party is waiting for the second phase of polling on April 26 to get over. The people of Wayanad will vote to choose their MP on April 26 and Rahul Gandhi is the Congress candidate from the Kerala seat. Nominations for Amethi and Raebareli are also set to open on the same day, April 26.