Priyanka May Contest from Rae Bareli, Sonia’s Emotional Message Hints At It

New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday made it clear that she is not interested in contesting the next Lok Sabha elections. But she would remain in touch with Rae Bareli, the Parlaimentary constituency she is representing since 2004.

“On account of health and advancing age issues I will not be contesting the next Lok Sabha elections. This will not give me an opportunity to serve you directly but I will remain in touch with you. I know in my heart that you will stand by me and my family in the future also, just as you have stood by us in the past,” Sonia Gandhi said in her message to the voters of Rae Bareli. On Wednesday, she filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan.

In her message to Rae Bareli voters, Sonia Gandhi hinted that that a member of her family could contest from there.

In her message, she informed that her late father-in-law Firoz Gandhi was the first MP to be elected from Rae Bareli after Independence.

“After that my mother-in-law Indira Gandhi represented Rae Bareli and you accepted her. I came to you after losing my husband and mother-in-law and you welcomed me with open arms,” Sonia Gandhi said in her message.

“I will not forget the fact that you stood by me through the trying circumstances of the last two elections,” said Sonia Gandhi, promising the voters of the segment that she would see them soon.

Sonia’s message is being widely seen in political circles as a signal that either her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or son Rahul Gandhi could choose to contest from Rae Bareli in the general election.