It appears that Sonia Gandhi has opted out of contesting from the Raebareli constituency. Instead, she has chosen to file her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.

 

As per the political experts, Gandhi is possibly wary of potential electoral defeat amidst predictions of BJP's victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha Election, which could be the reason for her decision.

 

 

 

Sonia Gandhi will file nomination papers from Rajasthan. This will be the 77-year-old leader's first term in the Upper House after serving five terms as a Lok Sabha MP.

 

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her to Jaipur for filing her papers. Congress leader Ashok Gehlot was also seen accompanying Sonia Gandhi.

 

 

 

She has been a five-term Lok Sabha MP and was first elected in 1999 after taking over as the Congress president. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sonia Gandhi secured 534,918 votes (55.80%) against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh who got 367,740 votes. Her vote share, however, had declined by 8 per cent. In Amethi, another stringhold of the Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani.

 

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot welcomed Sonia Gandhi's nomination from the Rajya Sabha and said Sonia has always been connected with Rajasthan. "We heartily welcome the announcement of respected Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji as the Rajya Sabha candidate from the Congress Party, who renounced the post of Prime Minister," Gehlot posted on X remembers Sonia Gandhi's many visits to the state -- some accompanying former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

 

Sonia Gandhi will be the second member of the Gandhi family to enter Rajya Sabha after former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who was a member of the Upper House from August 1964 to February 1967.

 

A total of 56 members of Rajya Sabha from 15 states are retiring in April and the election to the seats will be held on February 27. The last date for filing nominations is February 15.

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