One Take | No ‘Gandhi’giri, Indira 2.0 Priyanka or Rahul's ‘Dukaan’? News18 Looks for Cong’s Selling Point ‘Bareilly Ke Bazaar’ Mein

Amethi to Rae Bareilly is an hour’s drive. And in this hour, the difference in the Congress’s fortunes becomes stark. Unlike Amethi, in Rae Bareilly, the voters are a little more generous to the Gandhis.

Sonia Gandhi has now been elected unopposed as the Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan. With Rahul Gandhi a Wayanad MP, effectively no one from the Gandhi family represents Uttar Pradesh (UP).

While people of Amethi are unwilling to forgive and forget being “abandoned" and may not make it an easy fight for Rahul Gandhi, in case he decides to contest from the seat in 2024, in Rae Bareilly, News18 found that despite Sonia Gandhi rarely being there, voters were more accommodating.

Sonia Gandhi has been a five-time MP from here. She opted for this seat when she gave up hers in Amethi for her son’s electoral debut in 2004.

STAMP OF INDIRA GANDHI

In Rae Bareilly, the stamp and presence of Indira Gandhi looms large. At the Indira Gandhi Udyan, the massive statue of the Congress leader has many visitors. Some tell News18 that allowing Raj Narain to defeat her in 1977 was a mistake, so no one from the Gandhi family has ever lost from here after that.

When Sonia decided to seek recontest in 2006 after resigning over the possibility of the government bringing in an ordinance on the office of profit issue, this one step ensured she won back with a larger margin than in 2004, when she had contested from here for the first time.

Now that she is no longer an MP here, the question and suspense is – Who next? Will one of her two children contest or will the Gandhi family give the seat a miss?

It was in 1952 that Feroze Gandhi first contested from here. Indira Gandhi ensured that the legacy of the family was imprinted. So when Sonia Gandhi came here, she was seen as the favourite ‘bahu’ of Indira Gandhi and a win was a cakewalk.

LOYALTY TO TRIUMPH?

After Sonia, it’s now her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who many voters feel should be the rightful inheritor. In her, they see a spitting image of Indira Gandhi. In fact, during the last assembly polls, posters and banners read ‘Indira is back’. For a constituency which has Indira Gandhi as the prominent face, the Priyanka factor could work. She has looked after her mother’s constituency in her absence.

But in the past four years, she has seldom been seen here. In case the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fields a strong candidate from here, it could be a tough and challenging battle. But just as it took five years for Smriti Irani to register a win in Amethi, in Rae Bareilly, there is no surety that it could be a smashing defeat for the Congress.

There are some voters who News18 spoke to who feel that Rahul would be a good choice. Rae Bareilly is known to bail the Gandhis out. Like they did for Indira after the 1977 loss, or when Sonia recontested in 2006.

Some told News18: “Some may feel sympathy as Rahul Gandhi lost from Amethi in 2019. Rae Bareilly could ensure that he is given a chance."

With the BJP keen on wiping out the Congress completely from UP and on a mission of ‘370 paar’, it’s bound to put up a strong fight here too. In politics, generosity doesn’t last long.

Rae Bareilly has seen better days. But now this fairly large district pales in comparison to neighbouring Amethi, where many projects have been inaugurated. The voters here are watching it. And with a large number of young, aspirational voters who want more, the Gandhis will be asked for an account on what they gave to the constituency.

It’s quite likely that Sonia may make one more visit during campaigning. But the letter she wrote to the voters, appealing to them “to continue to bless and support the family" shows that Sonia is counting on sympathy.

Will loyalty triumph over power here?