The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Cong’s Rae Bareli, Amethi vacuum spurs buzz about yet another Gandhi — from other side
Varun Gandhi reportedly got feelers to contest from Rae Bareli, but BJP will go down this path charily
POLITICS IN Rae Bareli and Amethi is heating up with the Congress delaying announcing its candidates for the two Lok Sabha constituencies, which have determined the fortunes of the Nehru- Gandhi family for more than half a century.
In this vacuum, speculation is rushing in and, other than Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi, their cousin has been drawn into it. For, there is buzz that Varun Gandhi, who was denied a ticket by the BJP from his seat Pilibhit, and is currently in the political cold, may have got a feeler to test the waters in Rae Bareli.
When asked about this, Varun neither confirmed nor denied it, saying: “It would not be appropriate for me to publicly discuss conversations that may have taken place with the assurance of confidentiality… In any case, I have always believed that elections should be about issues rather than personalities.”
He declined to elaborate on what this meant. But clearly the stakes in both the seats are high. For, this is the seat once represented by their grandparents – Feroze Gandhi in 1952 and 1957, and Indira Gandhi in 1967, 1971 and 1980 – followed by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 till 2019.
As for the Congress, it is not confirmed if Priyanka will contest from Rae Bareli, thus making her electoral debut, or whether even Rahul Gandhi will stand from Amethi after the 2019 loss. Congress circles say the siblings are under “enormous pressure” from party workers to contest.
Priyanka’s team has activated itself in Rae Bareli, a constituency she nursed for her mother Sonia. The former Congress president has decided to take the Rajya Sabha route this time due to her health. A senior Congress leader said there were “positive” indications in Amethi ( that Rahul would contest from there). To whether Priyanka would be standing from Rae Bareli, he said: “Absolutely”.
The party’s official announcement is expected after polling is over in the Wayanad seat in Kerala, on April 26, from where Rahul is contesting. The party doesn't want the suggestion to go out that Rahul would give up Wayanad for Amethi, in case he wins from there. However, this is also being read as a clear sign that Rahul is considering contesting from
Amethi in addition to Wayanad.
A BJP overture to Varun to contest from Rae Bareli may be an effective way to frame the fight as one between the Congress’s Gandhi vs the BJP’S Gandhi, but that looks unlikely given the trust deficit between Varun and the party top brass; he has been critical of the government on more than one occasion.
After not giving Varun a ticket, asking him to contest against Priyanka will be a headline- grabbing event and will significantly elevate his stature, besides being a high- risk gambit, a BJP leader said.
In fact, there was speculation at one time that neither Varun nor his mother Maneka Gandhi would get a ticket this time. However, eventually the BJP leadership fielded Maneka from Sultanpur. Some feel it was done “to prevent Varun from going rogue”.
As for the Congress, if Priyanka chooses Rae Bareli, it could “open a new chapter in the Congress”, and so it’s not surprising that the BJP will go all out to fight it. The party has already weaned away MLAS from Rae Bareli – Manoj Pandey from the Samajwadi Party and Aditi Singh from the Congress – to weaken the alliance. However, Rae Bareli is an easier constituency for the Congress than Amethi – it has an estimated 30% Scheduled Caste vote, and Sonia won all the elections she fought from here by way over 50% of the votes. The BJP may also feel that while it can handle Rahul, Priyanka is a lesser tested entity.
In Dausa in Rajasthan earlier this month, she visibly connected with the people as she invoked local deities and used metaphors people identify with to land her punches. Like, her use of the wellknown ditty “Chanda mama door ke” to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, modifying its lines to say: “Khud khayen sone ki thali mein, aur janata ko khilayen tooti pyali mein ( Himself eats in gold utensils, serves the public in broken cups).”
Ask them about the possibility of Varun as a rival and Congress leaders are confident that won’t happen given “their close relationship”. While the two wings of the Nehru Gandhi clan are on opposite sides politically and ideologically, Varun is known to be on cordial terms with Priyanka.
For Varun, 2024 could be a milestone in his political journey from now on. There’s also talk that if he leaves the BJP, a door may open in the Congress. Or will he gravitate to a regional party to retain his political relevance? He enjoys a rapport with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav as well, and the latter had publicly praised him while campaigning in Pilibhit recently. However, for Varun, it may not be easy to explain to voters that while his mother Maneka is batting for the BJP in neighbouring Sultanpur, he is fighting on behalf of the Opposition.
Whatever happens, two things are clear. For the Congress, a loss from both Rae Bareli and Amethi in the coming Lok Sabha elections, with Sonia in the Rajya Sabha, will bring the curtains down on the family like no other election has done. As for Varun, if nothing works out over the next weeks, he may have to lie low, seek refuge in his mother’s success and prepare to fight for another day.
After all, he has age and a certain family name on his side.
( Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 10 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of ‘ How Prime Ministers Decide’)