Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge announced in a press conference Monday (Jun 17) that Rahul Gandhi will vacate the Wayanad seat from Kerala and retain Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli.
He also announced that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will contest the election from Wayanad now.
“Rahul Gandhi will keep the Raebareli seat as it is closely associated with the Gandhi family. Priyanka Gandhi will contest from Wayanad,” said Kharge.
The announcement was made after top party leadership met at Kharge's residence earlier in the day.
Rahul Gandhi had 14 days to relinquish one of the two seats that he won in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. He won both Wayanad (Kerala) and Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh) seats but is allowed to keep only one under the provisions of the Representation of People Act.
Earlier Rahul said choosing between the two seats was a great 'dilemma' for him.
“I have a dilemma before me, whether I should be the MP of Wayanad or of Rae Bareli. What I will commit to you is that both Wayand and Rae Bareli will be happy with my decision,” he said.
Rahul to become 'leader of opposition'?
In the Monday meeting, it was also discussed whether to declare Rahul Gandhi the leader of the opposition in the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
However, according to several media sources, Gandhi has not shown interest in taking up the role, something that would have enabled him to coordinate better with the allies of the INDIA bloc.
Significance of Rae Bareli seat
Former Congress chief and Rahul’s mother Sonia Gandhi represented Rae Bareli for several terms but the seat stood vacated as Sonia was nominated to the upper house of the Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha. It was only after this that Rahul's name was finalised for Rae Bareli ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier, there were speculations that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could be fielded from the Rae Bareli seat. But now, she will be heading to the southernmost state of India.
(With inputs from agencies)