In our series covering profiles of key constituencies for Lok Sabha elections, today we bring you a report on the Raebareli Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. In the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, voting will be held on the 20th of May in 14 seats of the State. This also includes the important seat of Raebareli. Considered to be the stronghold of the Nehru Gandhi family, this seat has been won by the Congress 17 times. This time, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting from this seat. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party has once again made a Minister in the State government, Dinesh Pratap Singh, its candidate. Thakur Prasad Yadav is contesting from the Bahujan Samaj Party. Apart from them, five other candidates are also in the fray.
Akashvani Correspondent reports that five Assembly constituencies come under the Raebareli parliamentary constituency. These include Bachhrawan, Harchandpur, Raebareli, Sareni and Unchahar. In this Lok Sabha seat, 17 lakh 83 thousand 8 hundred 85 voters will decide the fate of 8 candidates on the 20th of May. These include 9 lakh 31 thousand 1 hundred 71 male voters, 8 lakh 52 thousand 6 hundred 78 female voters, and 36 third gender voters.
Congress leaders like Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi reached Parliament from this seat. Congress has lost the election only three times on this seat, in which BJP has won twice and the Janata Party once. BSP and SP have not been able to open their accounts on this seat till date. Indira Gandhi was MP from this seat twice, and Sonia Gandhi was MP from this seat five times in a row. In the 2019 General Election, Sonia Gandhi was challenged by former Congressman Dinesh Pratap Singh, who contested on a BJP ticket. In the election, Sonia Gandhi won by defeating the BJP candidate by 1 lakh 67 thousand 178 votes. In the 2019 General Election, Congress could win only one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, Raebareli. After Sonia Gandhi goes to Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi will face the challenge of saving the last fort of the Gandhi family in Uttar Pradesh. To challenge Rahul Gandhi on this high profile seat, BJP has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh for the second time. Dinesh Pratap Singh left Congress and joined BJP in 2018. Thakur Prasad Yadav is in the fray from BSP. All the parties have intensified campaigning to ensure victory on this seat.
