How good a 'Strategy' was for Rahul Gandhi to not contest from Amethi, his bastion.

The General Elections - 2024

The 2024 general elections in India has not just sprung surprises in the form of candidates but also the political parties are serving all kinds of dishes in various forms to the people to show how good is one compared to the other. The elections are indeed a festival for the people of the country with every nook and corner of the country decorated with different flags of the political parties, the posters and cut outs of the party leaders. Every citizen discusses about the politics that one observe on television or read in newspapers but is smart enough not to open his or her pack of cards.  

The Seat Fight

The entire country knows from where the Prime Minister will fight the elections but everyone in the country was waiting to know which place will  Mr. Rahul Gandhi contest from. As the phase 1 and 2 got over, the media was asking just one question  - "Will Mr. Rahul Gandhi contest from Amethi and make a come back?" Even Mrs. Smriti Irani had welcomed Mr. Rahul Gandhi to fight against her in Amethi. She had even chased him down to Wayanad and campaigned against him. She seemed quite confident of her victory against the Gandhi scion. 

The spokespersons of the grand old party had only one answer - "It is a strategy." 

There were debates on channels when his brother-in-law came forward and threw his hat in the ring. It was a topic of discussion for prime time news as whether the siblings will contest from Amethi and Raebareli and keep their bastions in the family. But when 'The Day' arrived, came a surprise from the kitty of Congress. 

Strategy or Submission

The BJP was the first one to go all guns blazing against Mr. Gandhi and the Prime Minister himself repeating Mr. Rahul Gandhi's line as a jibe "Daro Mat, Bhago Mat." 

The questions still remain unanswered as to why did he ditch Amethi and go Raebareli?

Smriti Irani cannot be underestimated as a political challenger nor her victory the last time in 2019 can be entirely credited to Mr. Modi as she latched on to Amethi even after facing a crushing defeat in 2014. She worked hard and campaigned very very hard against the mighty Gandhi family of whose, Amethi was the bastion. A pocket borough which they had taken for granted thinking that the people of Amethi would vote for them no matter what.

It could have been a notion of the congress party that since she won against Mr. Gandhi  and was labelled as 'the giant killer', it had lifted her status from a karyakartha and positioned her in equivalence to their leader. Placing him from Raebareli would make the battle as Mr. Narendra Modi Versus Mr. Rahul Gandhi, that is, nationally the picture would be national leaders of two mainstream parties fighting for the position of the top job.

Also, his grandmother had fought from this seat and had become the Prime Minister of the Country. Amethi will not be looked upon by the media as a prestige seat and Mrs. Smriti Irani would not be in the limelight. This must have been the 'strategy' as the Congress calls it.

But a coin has two sides. From the other side, it seems as though, not just him but the entire family has abandoned the seat in order to avoid a tough battle with a confident Mrs. Irani. The country has developed a feeling that he has chosen a safe seat and Mrs. Gandhi had vacated the seat for her son to win. 

Furthermore, it suggests as though the Gandhi scion has conceded defeat even before contesting from Amethi. Since the supreme leader of the Congress party has given up on the fight for his seat even before the battle began, this must have even lowered the morale of the workers of the party.

Winding - up

For now the party seems to look for cover fire from the questions bombarded on them by the media and the perception that the decision has created. 

Two questions still remain unanswered:

1. If he wins in Raebareli, which seat will he chose - Wayanad or Raebareli?

2. Has the Congress Party handed over the seat of Amethi on a platter to the BJP ? 

Disclaimer:

I am not a journalist or a political observer or a political analyst or related to any political party. I am a citizen of India who write about the topics on which I feel I should express my opinion on.