Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh, while announcing the party's decision to field him from Raebareli, called Rahul Gandhi a “shatir” (expert) and “shatranj ke khiladi” (chess player). He praised it. His decision to abandon Amethi in favor of Raebareli is being predicted as a masterpiece of a great master. Mr. Rabareri, whose grandfather, grandmother and mother were elected to the Lok Sabha for several terms since 1952, is a poor candidate when compared to his neighbor Mr. Amethi, who lost to Smriti Irani in 2019 after serving three terms.・It is seen as a safety measure for Mr. Gandhi.
The 1924 vintage short story 'Shatranji Ke Khiladi' by Munshi Premchand depicts the decadent feudal system of the 19th century in Awadh (Raebareli is in the Awadh region). In 1977, the year Rajna Rain defeated Indira Gandhi in Raabareli, maestro Satyajit His Ray produced an epic film based on this story. The film was shot in Lucknow during the Lok Sabha elections. It was released soon after.
The current state of the Indian National Congress elite is perhaps reflected in Premchand's story, which shows how the upper echelons of Awadh are extremely self-centered and oblivious to the realities on the ground.
The story centers around two Nawabs of Lucknow who checkmated each other while the British took over the reins. The self-destruction of the ruling class was poignantly depicted by Premchand.
Rahul Gandhi's candidature was announced at the 11th hour in the early hours of May 3, ending speculation about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's possible entry into the polls. She is said to have been reluctant to enter the contest herself. Meanwhile, her husband Robert Vadra said she has expressed her desire to throw in her hat multiple times in recent days and that she is responding to her people's demands that she should contest. she insisted. Congress never commented on his claims. On May 3, Vadra accompanied his wife to Rabareri, where she became a prominent face in Rahul Gandhi's inner circle, including Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Ashok Gehlot was also present. No prominent figure from the Indian bloc accompanied Rahul Gandhi in filing his nomination.
The Samajwadi Party (SP), an influential ally of the bloc, and its workers welcomed Rahul, but unlike the president of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), who accompanied Rahul in Wayanad, the party's representative He was not present when the documents were submitted.
In Wayanad, the Congress had asked the IUML, whose flag resembles the Pakistan flag, to keep its standards away from the pre-nomination roadshow. On IUML's insistence, the Congress flag was also kept away. There was no roadshow but both Congress and SP flags were hoisted at Raebareli. On Akhilesh Yadav's insistence, the Gandhi family entered the contest from UP but was busy campaigning elsewhere. More than the Indian bloc, Akhilesh Yadav is enthusiastic about his PDA (Pichuda Dalit Alliance) initiative.
The BJP was quick to speculate that Rahul Gandhi may have moved away from Amethi. Amethi is being fielded by Kishori Lal Sharma, a Gandhi family supporter and former sweet shop owner from Ludhiana who served as Amethi Raebareli constituency president for 40 years. Addressing a rally in Bengal's Bardhaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed Rahul Gandhi's remark of “daro matt (don't be afraid)” and added “bago matt (don't scoot)”.
Sharma's choice can be seen from two perspectives. The first is that the Gandhis reward their loyalists. A perhaps related view is that Mr Sharma was the safest bet after three upheavals in East Ahmedabad, Surat and Indore rendered the campaign meaningless as party candidates switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party. That's probably true. Apparently, there was no reliable and prominent person in Uttar Pradesh who could be entrusted with the task of ousting Rahul's close aide Smriti Irani.
Rahul's legendary aloofness was all too evident. Typically, prominent candidates, accompanied by local leaders, national faces and lawyers, approach the Returning Officer's podium to submit their papers. Rahul suddenly took to the podium and submitted his nomination. Then he looked around and noticed that his team was nowhere to be found. Sonia Gandhi walked slowly, followed by Mallikarjun Kharge, assisted by Robert Vadra. Priyanka made up the rest of the team. Ashok Gehlot was kept away. So were the UP Congress leaders.
Rahul Gandhi often utters a great deal of abuse against the Bharatiya Janata Party while interacting with the media, but he completely avoids the press. He did not issue a statement explaining why he ditched Amethi and chose Rae Bareli. After the shock of 2019, he never visited Amethi. He flew to Pune after submitting his documents. Priyanka handled the media for 'Amethi' and 'Raebareli'.
In Wayanad, Rahul called the constituency his 'home'. His candidature from Raebareli has caused distress in the Kerala constituency, which went to polls on April 26. Voters there may wonder whether the MP they elected in 2019 will remain with them if they win both seats, even though they lost Amethi.
Rahul's nomination by Raebareli after completing his Wayanad election campaign indicates that the Election Commission's decision to hold seven-phase elections may not have been against the interests of the opposition after all. . As per the phased schedule, Rahul, who is the only candidate contesting for two seats in 2024, will campaign in Wayanad as a 'local' and then vote in Rae Bareli, where nominations began after polls closed in Wayanad. It became possible to find
The indomitable spirit of the National Congress Party is clearly reflected in the Rabarelli story. Mallikarjun Kharge had said the party would field a “surprise” candidate in Raebareli, the only UP seat won by the Congress in 2019. Demand for Mr Gandhi's representation echoed from his family's stronghold as Sonia Gandhi opted for Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan due to health considerations.
Jairam Ramesh brushed aside questions about Priyanka not contesting elections, saying she needs to campaign elsewhere. Priyanka has undoubtedly emerged as a star campaigner for the Congress party, and she is quick to respond to all the Bharatiya Janata Party's outbursts. However, her claim in Amethi on May 3 that she would move to the area with her “her family” from May 6 for Sharma's election campaign contradicts Jairam Ramesh's claims. It has a question mark.
In recent days, six parliamentary spokespeople have deserted the ship one after another. Rohan Gupta did this after being nominated as the Lok Sabha candidate from Ahmedabad East. Gaurav Ballab, a former professor at the niche Xavier Labor Research Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur, has been reporting many stories about the Congress in the media ever since he joined the BJP. One story is that on March 29, 2014, after the BJP won the sweepstakes, Jairam Ramesh said that leaders should retire at the age of 70. He turned 70 on April 9th ​​last month.
The campaign for 2024 is currently in its final stages. This election was characterized by attrition from the Congress and an increase in the status of the BJP. Rahul's Bharatiya Janata Party rival in Raebareli, Dinesh Pratap Singh, was a prominent Congress face in the region until 2018. A year later, he ran against Sonia Gandhi from the Bharatiya Janata Party, significantly narrowing the traditional margin of victory.
The choice of Raebareli for Rahul Gandhi may be considered a masterpiece by some. The implications for both Raebareli and Wayanad after the results are announced on June 4 will be far-reaching.
(Mr. Shuvabrata Bhattacharya is a former editor and public relations critic)
Disclaimer: These are the author's personal opinions.
