BREAKING: Congress despatches ex-CMs Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot to 'observe' Rae Bareli and Amethi

The Congress party on Monday deputed two former chief ministers to manage Rae Bareli and Amethi Lok Sabha seats. While former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will manage Rae Bareli, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to manage things in Amethi.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, while Congress loyalist KL Sharma is the candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. Priyanka Gandhi has opted not to contest the Lok Sabha elections in either of these Congress strongholds.

In addition to Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Kerala's Wayanad. The voting in Rae Bareli is scheduled for May 20, while Wayanad voters cast their votes on April 26.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli, where he previously contested against Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 general elections. Both Amethi and Rae Bareli have historically been Congress bastions in Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi represented Amethi for three consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019, until he was defeated by BJP leader Smriti Irani. Currently, Rahul Gandhi represents Kerala's Wayanad constituency.

Before Rahul Gandhi, his mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi represented Amethi from 1999 to 2004. Prior to Sonia Gandhi, the seat was held by Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Rae Bareli was represented by Sonia Gandhi for around two decades from 2004 to 2024. Earlier this year, Sonia Gandhi announced that she would not contest the Lok Sabha elections due to health reasons and instead moved to the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress has formed an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh as part of the INDIA bloc and is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Under the seat-sharing agreement with the Samajwadi Party, Congress is contesting Raebareli, Amethi, Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Basgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki, and Deoria. Notably, Congress has nominated its Uttar Pradesh state chief Ajay Rai to contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi