People from all walks of life in Rae Bareli are excited to welcome the entry of Rahul Gandhi into the electoral politics of the pocket borough of the Gandhi family.
However, there was a mixed reaction to the sudden entry of Rahul Gandhi from Amethi as some were more eager to see Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launch her electoral politics from here.
The enthusiasm among the youths during the nomination of Rahul Gandhi was overwhelming, who raised slogans of “Rahul Gandhi Zindabad” and “Congress Zindabad”.
What is surprising was that the Samajwadi Party (SP) workers, in attendance during the nomination of Rahul Gandhi alongside the supporters of Congress, joined the Congress workers in raising the slogan “Congress Zindabad “.
However, there were some anxious moments when BJP and Congress-SP workers raised slogans against each other near the Collectorate during the nomination process.
Rahul’s sister Priyanka, while addressing the workers in Amethi, said that they are with the people of Rae Bareli and Amethi through her brother and their close confident K L Sharma.
Congress media in-charge of Rae Bareli Vinay Dwivedi said in all parliamentary elections, people have supported the Gandhi family, and this time too, Rahul Gandhi would receive unprecedented support.
“The political scenario in 2024 is diametrically opposite to that of 2019. People today know the real face of the BJP and its leaders. It is our guarantee that both our candidates will win in Rae Bareli and Amethi by a record margin,” he said while sitting in the Congress central office at Rafu Marg after the nominations.
However, BJP candidate and UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh, who is pitted against Rahul in the election, was equally confident about his victory against Rahul Gandhi.
He said since K L Sharma was himself the candidate, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has taken up the charge of poll management for both the Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies. She is slated to launch her campaign in these two seats on May 6.
Talking to The Statesman here after he filed his nomination on Friday, Dinesh Pratap Singh alleged that Rahul Gandhi is a “Political Bhagora” (deserter). “First, he fled Amethi and contested from Wayanad in Kerala, and now, he left Amethi permanently while the fate of Wayanad is not known,” he said.
Dinesh Pratap Singh said, “They (the people) were ready for such the sudden move of Congress and were prepared to take things head on.”
He said his party’s strategy had been prepared and the workers were on the field.
Emphasising the achievements of the double-engine government of the BJP in the state, he said the people of Rae Bareli are happy with the performance and the development works done by the government.
Singh said people themselves would give a befitting reply to the Gandhi family in the election and would question them about their negligence of the area.
Meanwhile, people from a cross-section of society reacted to the candidature of Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli. Jokhu, 75, a cobbler sitting at Uchahar market in the heat wave conditions, welcomed Rahul’s nomination, saying, “We are very happy to see a young member of the Gandhi family contesting the polls from Rae Bareli.”
Recounting the constituency’s association with the constituency, he said, “We have been given all facilities, including land and other things, by Indira Gandhi, and not it is our duty to support Rahul Gandhi.”
A farmer from Nankupurwa village of Kapil said no one in Rae Bareli can say that the Gandhi family has done nothing for them. “Now, it is our turn to repay the Gandhi family through votes,” he asserted.
Another shopkeeper at Civil Lines in Rae Bareli, Surya Narain Maurya, said, “How can anyone raise a finger against the Gandhi family, who have sacrificed themselves for the country.”