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Congress leader Sonia Gandhi today announced that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, citing health concerns. Mrs Gandhi yesterday filed her nomination papers from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha polls.

“Due to health and increasing age, I will not contest the next Lok Sabha elections. After this decision, I will not get the opportunity to serve you directly, but, certainly, my heart and soul will always be with you,” Mrs Gandhi said. 

Mrs Gandhi entered active politics in 1999 when she was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Amethi. Her subsequent rise saw her become the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and later, in the 2004 general elections, she won from Rae Bareli.

In a letter, Sonia Gandhi expressed her profound connection to Rae Bareli, acknowledging the enduring support and love she has received from its residents.

CPP चेयरपर्सन श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी जी का रायबरेली की जनता के नाम संदेश- pic.twitter.com/6zlJkWjwvi

— Congress (@INCIndia) February 15, 2024

“The close relationship with Rae Bareli is very old. Our family’s ties with Rae Bareli run very deep. In the first Lok Sabha elections held after independence, you made my father-in-law Shri Feroze Gandhi win from here and sent him to Delhi. After him, you made my mother-in-law Mrs Indira Gandhi your own. From then till now, this series has continued with love and enthusiasm through the ups and downs and difficult paths of life, and our faith in it has become stronger,” Mrs Gandhi wrote. 

Feroze Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s husband and Congress leader, triumphed twice from Rae Bareli in 1952 and 1957. Arun Nehru, grandnephew of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, clinched victories in a 1980 bypoll and in 1984. Sheila Kaul, Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister-in-law, secured wins in 1989 and 1991. Members of the Nehru-Gandhi family abstained from contesting the seat on only two occasions, in 1962 and 1999.

Addressing the people of Rae Bareli, Mrs Gandhi wrote: “You also gave me space to walk on this bright path. After losing my mother-in-law and my life partner forever, I came to you and you spread your arms for me. In the last two elections, you stood by me like a rock even in difficult circumstances, I can never forget this. I am proud to say that whatever I am today is because of you and I have always tried to live up to this trust.”

Congress suffered defeats in Rae Bareli on three occasions since Independence. The first loss took place in the post-Emergency elections when Indira Gandhi was defeated by the Janata Party’s Raj Narain. 

Subsequent defeats took place in 1996 and 1998 when Indira Gandhi’s cousins Vikram Kaul and Deepa Kaul lost against the BJP. 

Mrs Gandhi was accompanied by her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra when she filed her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha in Jaipur yesterday. The Congress veteran is set to make her debut in the Upper House from Rajasthan, securing the seat that will become available in April following former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s completion of his Rajya Sabha term.