Rahul Gandhi to contest Lok Sabha polls from Rae Bareli, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will file his Lok Sabha elections’ nomination from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli, the family pocket borough vacated by his mother, Sonia Gandhi. Kishori Lal Sharma, Gandhi’s loyalist, will contest the polls from Amethi.

The last date for the filing of nomination papers for the two constituencies is May 3, Friday.

The two seats, which used to be the Gandhi family’s strongholds, will go to polls on May 20.

The Rae Bareli seat was vacated by Sonia Gandhi after she became a member of the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.

Rahul Gandhi is already contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala’s Wayanad district.

Rahul Gandhi, the incumbent MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, will contest the Rae Bareli polls against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh, whom Sonia Gandhi defeated in the 2019 general elections.

Kishori Lal Sharma is a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi’s in Amethi.

The delay in announcing candidates on the two seats had prompted BJP’s attacks. The party attributed the delay to the Congress’s alleged lack of self-confidence.

Asked if he would contest the elections from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi last month said he would do what the party leadership decides.