Behind Rahul Gandhi's Raebareli pick: Priyanka's reluctance, making inroads into Hindi heartland

The Congress finally put all the speculations to rest when it announced that Rahul Gandhi would contest from the family bastion Raebareli seat in Uttar Pradesh.

Though it was widely expected that Rahul would be fielded in Amethi despite overwhelming demand from supporters, the Raeberli choice stemmed from his defeat against BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

It is believed that Congress was well aware of the expected barbs it was going to face from the BJP for fielding Rahul from a safe seat.

But Congress was compelled to field Rahul after Priyanka Gandhi reportedly refused to make her poll debut.

Deccan Herald newspaper, quoting party sources, reported that two months back, Priyanka had told Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge that she was not interested in contesting the 2024 polls.

It was reported that Priyanka was apprehensive about contesting as it would bring unnecessary attention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of dynastic politics by fielding both the Gandhi siblings.

With Priyanka Gandhi out of the picture, Congress convinced Rahul to fight from Raebareli, given the belief that Gandhis not contesting from the Hindi heartland would send a bad political message, Indian Express newspaper reported.

With Raebareli done, Congress decided to go with Gandhi loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma for the Amethi seat as he is believed to be a strong contender against Smriti Irani.