The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
The decision on Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of Opposition was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
"I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities," alleged Kishor.
Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi are likely to contest the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, respectively, sources said on Thursday.
Sharma was the key person who looked after Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies on behalf of the Gandhis.
The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat Smriti Irani on Monday attacked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for the lack of development in the constituency, saying he has betrayed people after promising them progress.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
The BJP, however, reacted sharply to Gandhi's remarks saying the Congress leader will do well worrying more about his constituency.
After tasting electoral success in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said it would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from 20 states, including Uttar Pradesh, where it would field candidates from all 80 constituencies.
Indicating his keenness to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said that the people of Amethi expect him to represent their constituency if he thinks of becoming a member of Parliament.
Amid criticism that the Congress had given a walkover to Irani in Amethi, sources said, the party in its wisdom believed that Rae Bareli's historical, emotional and electoral importance for the Gandhi family was higher than that of Amethi.
The people of Amethi want to rectify their 'mistake' of 2019 and Congress workers as well as leaders are demanding that Rahul Gandhi contest from the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai said.
'If the Congress loses this time, Rahul Gandhi will not look back at Amethi ever again.'
Reacting to his win, Sharma expressed his gratitude to the people of Amethi and the Congress party, saying the 18th Lok Sabha election in Amethi will be the biggest example of a strong and empowered democratic country.
Smriti Irani took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and his brother-in-law suggesting that Vadra has an eye on the constituency.
Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli is a "victory" for the people in Amethi.
On speculations of Priyanka Gandhi contesting in the 2024 election, Rai said that Priyanka Gandhi will contest from wherever she wants to.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has distributed over 15,000 saris among woman from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency as a Diwali gift.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
A banner came up outside Purey Alpi Tiwari hamlet in Sarmeny village under Jamo block on Monday warning to boycott the coming elections with the locals raising slogans.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the family of Shubham Dwivedi, one of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, and called for a special session of Parliament to ensure justice for the victims. Gandhi, along with the opposition, has demanded the government take strict action against the terrorists and provide justice to the bereaved families. He met with Dwivedi's family in Kanpur and expressed his condolences, emphasizing the need for a united front against terrorism. The Congress has also issued statements calling for a strong response to the attack and demanding accountability for the perpetrators.
In an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi, Modi said some INDIA bloc leaders left the Lok Sabha and moved to the Rajya Sabha as they have no courage to contest elections.
Missing persons posters featuring Rahul Gandhi's image pop up in Amethi.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
The ruling party said Rahul Gandhi should not worry about the PM and should rather be concerned about his and Sonia Gandhi's electoral fate in 2019.
Robert Vadra indicated that he will also join politics and said there is an atmosphere of change in the country. His entire family is working diligently on this, he added.
Modi talks of development but he is harming them," the Congress vice president adding that projects that could have changed the lives of people.
"I will celebrate the milestone in Amethi, where I will be meeting our Congress workers & supporters today," he said.
KC Venugopal mentioned that the Congress's goal is to diminish the BJP's representation in Uttar Pradesh by securing half of the seats in the state.
'Rahul Gandhi has done nothing for the constituency'
The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee is keen to field senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Varanasi and will soon send a proposal in this regard to the top leadership, said newly appointed party's state president Ajay Rai on Sunday.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged people to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards former Union minister Smriti Irani or any other leader.
Kharge claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are "put on the lap" and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.
'Sonia did not visit this place once since she won. Who's to say they won't lose this one, too?'
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Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday released its first list of 20 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, pitting Kumar Vishwas from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's seat, and former banker Meera Sanyal and social activist Medha Patkar from Mumbai.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday indicated his party could field a candidate in the next election from the high-profile Amethi seat, which it used to leave for the Congress.
In a rare show of bonhomie between estranged cousins, Bharatiya Janata Party's Varun Gandhi 'praised' Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his efforts towards empowerment of women in Amethi, reacting to which the Congress vice president said he was happy to receive the appreciation.
If Priyanka wins the Lok Sabha bypolls, it would be for the first time that three members of the Gandhi family will be in Parliament. Her mother Sonia Gandhi is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.
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