‘Mother will contest Rae Bareli’

NEW DELHI: Priyanka GandhiVadra on Saturday put to rest the speculation over her contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli, saying her mother Sonia Gandhi would again be in the fray from the Parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

The speculation arose after Sonia Gandhi indicated her “retirement” on Friday.

“There is no question of me contesting (the 2019 polls)...my mother will contest from there (Rae Bareli),” Priyanka GandhiVadra said after Rahul Gandhi assumed charge as Congress president.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (from Amethi) are the only two Congress representatives from Uttar Pradesh in the current Lok Sabha.

NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Saturday, dismissed speculation that she will contest from her mother Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“There is no question of me contesting from Rae Bareli…my mother will contest from there,” said the 45-year-old Priyanka on the sidelines of a function held to formalise Rahul’s takeover as the Congress chief.

Sonia, who turned 71 on December 9, has represented Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha since 2004 and Priyanka has been managing the constituency for many years now.

Priyanka lauded her mother for overcoming the difficulties she faced during her record tenure as the Congress president.

“My mother is the bravest and the strongest woman I have seen… She faced a lot of difficulties,” added Priyanka with husband Robert Vadra by her side.

There was intense speculation about Sonia’s future role after her “retirement” remarks on Friday.

“My role now is to retire,” she had said when asked about her future involvement in the Congress.

However, the Congress later clarified that Sonia was only retiring as the Congress president and not from active politics.

Asked about how she felt on Rahul’s elevation, Priyanka said, “This is a proud moment for me”.