Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the General Secretary in charge of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of Uttar Pradesh East, may contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
However, an official announcement regarding Priyanka’s candidature representing the Indian National Congress (INC) in the Lok Sabha elections is yet to be made.
An INC source, who wished to remain anonymous, addressed the media and said, the chances of Priyanka Gandhi contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi are 50:50.
The speculations regarding the candidature of Ms. Gandhi started with her statement at a public rally in Wayanad, Kerala.
During the public rally in Kerala’s Wayanad, Ms. Gandhi addressed the media and said, “I will be happy to contest in Varanasi if my brother Rahul Gandhi insists.”
At several other rallies, Ms. Gandhi gave a hint regarding her contesting from the Varanasi constituency, stating, “Why not Varanasi?”
When Rahul Gandhi, the President of the INC, was asked in an interview about the candidature of Ms. Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections, he responded by saying, “I will leave you in suspense. Suspense is not always a bad thing!”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the grand alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) already released the names of the candidates contesting from the Varanasi constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will represent the BJP, whereas Shalini Yadav will represent the grand alliance of the BSP and the SP.
If Ms. Gandhi is nominated as the MP of the Varanasi constituency, she will compete against the aforementioned candidates.
Uttar Pradesh will contest a total of 80 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, divided into 7 phases. Out of the 80 seats, the State contested a total of 28 seats on the 11th of April, 18th of April and the 23rd of April in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd phase of the elections. The polling for the remaining 52 seats would be conducted in 4 phases, scheduled on the 29th of April, 6th of May, 12th of May and the 19th of May 2019.
The major parties contesting the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections are the INC, the BJP and the grand alliance of the BSP and the SP.
The results of the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha elections will be announced on the 23rd of May 2019.
