LS polls: Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Indira Gandhi before departing for Rae Bareli

This is his first visit to the Lok Sabha constituency after he filed the nominations on May 3.

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In this context, Congress released a video of Rahul Gandhi paying homage to his grandmother at the Indira Gandhi Memorial before travelling to Rae Bareli.

Rahul Gandhi wrote, "Holding his finger, I took the first steps of my life and today, at every step, his life and his ideals are with me as my guide."

His sister and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present when he reached Rae Bareli.

The Congress, on May 3, announced Rahul as a candidate from Raebareli and loyalist KL Sharma from Amethi, keeping Priyanka as well as Vadra out of the electoral contest.

Sharma is pitted against Union Minister Smriti Irani, who trounced Rahul in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Amethi seat has been represented by Rahul since 2004, and he remained a member of Parliament from the constituency until 2019. His father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, too, was an elected member of Amethi in the Lower House from 1981 till his death in 1991.

Sonia Gandhi contested and won Amethi in 1999 before passing the baton on to Rahul in 2004.

Before Sonia, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had won Raebareli thrice. The constituency also elected Indira's husband and Congress leader Feroze Gandhi twice, in 1952 and 1957.

Rahul Gandhi is a sitting MP in Kerala's Wayanad, where he is seeking a fresh term alongside Rae Bareli. Rahul represented Amethi from 2004 until 2019. He will face Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh of BJP in Rae Bareli.

Rae Bareli constituency goes to the polls on May 20 in the fifth phase. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi won the constituency, bagging 5,34,918 votes. Her closest rival, Dinesh Pratap Singh, put up a formidable challenge, gathering 3,67,740 votes. (ANI)