Gandhi family absent from Amethi Lok Sabha contest for first time in 25 years

Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, long synonymous with the Gandhi family's political legacy, will see a departure from tradition as no member of the Gandhi family contests the Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 25 years.

Historically regarded as a bastion of the Gandhi family since its establishment as a constituency in 1967, Amethi has been under the representation of a Gandhi family member for approximately 31 years. However, this electoral cycle marks a notable shift as the Congress stronghold grapples with a new political landscape.

"No member of the Gandhi family contesting from Amethi in itself is an indication that Congress has accepted its defeat from Amethi even before elections", says Amethi MP & Union Minister Smriti Irani.

The stronghold was breached in the 2019 general elections when BJP's Smriti Irani clinched victory over Rahul Gandhi by a substantial margin of over 55,000 votes.

In a recent development, Rahul Gandhi, a scion of the Gandhi family, is slated to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Raebareli constituency, previously held by his mother, as announced by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in a press release issued on May 3. Concurrently, Kishori Lal is set to contest from Amethi, a seat lost by Rahul to BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019.

Responding to these announcements, the BJP named Dinesh Pratap Singh as its nominee from Raebareli, who had contested against Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

With the nomination filing deadline closing on May 3 for the seats scheduled for polling on May 20 in the fifth phase of the seven-phase general elections, parties have intensified their efforts in the nomination process for both constituencies.

Rahul Gandhi, who represented Amethi from 2004 until 2019 and currently holds the Wayanad constituency in Kerala, has affirmed his commitment to abide by the party's directives.

Raebareli, traditionally considered a stronghold of the Gandhi-Nehru family, was previously represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024. Before that, Sonia Gandhi contested and represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in 1999, succeeding Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in the seat.