India Election Rahul to contest polls from family borough

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the general election from the family bastion in the north, his Congress party announced yesterday, a move that will challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a region he dominates. Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, will contest from Raebareli in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh state, Congress said, in addition to Wayanad in Kerala state in the south, which has already voted. India allows candidates to contest multiple constituencies but they can represent only one. Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and elects 80 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament, the most of any state. In the last election in 2019, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies won 64 seats, including from Amethi, adjacent to Raebareli, where Gandhi was defeated. His return to the area, albeit for a second constituency, will invigorate the party, Congress officials said. Modi and the BJP attacked Gandhi for the decision.LondonGBDESK//