UP Election 2022: After taking Amethi in 2019, BJP assaults last Gandhi bastion of Rae Bareily

While Priyanka Gandhi is attempting to revive the sinking Congress in Uttar Pradesh, the party may be staring at a total decimation in the last remaining Gandhi bastion in the state.

After storming the Gandhi bastion of Amethi in 2019 with Smriti Irani handing down a defeat to Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha polls, BJP has it eyes set on the last Gandhi stronghold of Rae Bareily.

Sonia Gandhi faced a “tough fight” last time against MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had left her party to join the BJP.

Sonia Gandhi had retained the seat in 2019 defeating Dinesh Pratap Singh by 1.6 lakh votes, the lowest victory margin in 15 years.

In 2014, she had won by a margin of 3.5 lakh votes, in 2009 by 3.7 lakh and in 2004 by 2.4 lakh. In the 2006 by-election, her victory margin was 4.1 lakh votes.

This Assembly election, the BJP is going whole hog in the constituency that has been represented by Sonia Gandhi since 2004.

Rae Bareily has six Assembly seats: Unchahar, Harchandpur, Sareni, Rae Bareily (Sadar), Bachhrawan and Salon.

In 2017, the Congress retained just 2 of the 6 seats - Rae Bareli (Sadar) and Harchandpur. They were won by Aditi Singh and Rakesh Singh for the party.

But both the winners from the last time have now switched sides to the BJP and have been fielded against the Congress from the same seats.

BJP has already decimated Congress in the family bastion of Amethi. In 2017 the saffron party swept 4 out of 5 Assembly seats in Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha seat, which he also lost in 2019.