Following Rahul Gandhi’s decision to keep the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and give up Wayanad in Kerala to let Priyanka Gandhi Vadra run in the by-elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday slammed the Congress, accusing it of engaging in “dynastic politics.”
“With Rahul Gandhi deciding to vacate the Wayanad seat and his sister to contest from there, it has become clear today that the Congress is not a political party but a company of the family,” BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala charged.
“Mother (Sonia Gandhi) will be in the Rajya Sabha, son (Rahul Gandhi) in the Lok Sabha from one seat (Rae Bareli) and Priyanka will also be in the Lok Sabha from another (Wayanad) seat. This is a symbol of dynasticism,” he added.
The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that Gandhi will retain the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and resign from the Wayanad seat in Kerala, where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest. This statement prompted the BJP to respond.
Gandhi’s decision to resign from the Wayanad seat, according to the BJP spokesperson, is a “betrayal” of the people in the constituency and indicates that the Gandhi family’s “political legacy” will continue to be carried on by its son.
“This shows who is first between the son and the daughter,” he charged.
Poonawalla asserted that Gandhi made the decision to stay in the Rae Bareli seat because he knew that if he did, the seat would fall to the BJP in the bye-election.
He said that Gandhi won the Rae Bareli seat because of the Samajwadi Party’s backing.
“Immediately after the elections, the BJP one again became strong in this seat,” he added.
In response to the news, BJP leader Ajay Alok criticised Gandhi for giving up the Wayanad seat and asserted that Priyanka Gandhi would have a difficult time winning the seat back for Congress.
“But the election is not going to be easy (for Priyanka Gandhi). We will be contesting hard. Obviously, the Communist Party is also going to give it a good try. But, if at all, she wins from Wayanad, it will be interesting in the Lok Sabha because people will question who decided to field Priyanka and what was the intent behind. Was it to create an alternate leadership?” the BJP leader said.
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