'Legacy should be taken over by son': Shashi Tharoor on Sonia Gandhi imposing Rahul in Rae Bareli

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday rejected the BJP's charge that Sonia Gandhi was imposing Rahul Gandhi in its traditional stronghold Rae Bareli. Tharoor, who unsuccessfully contested for Congress presidency in 2022, said Rae Bareli is a Gandhi bastion and when Sonia Gandhi decided to step aside, it was fitting that the legacy should be taken over by the son. 

The Thiruvananthapuram MP said that Rahul Gandhi was unquestionably the most popular leader of the Congress party - both public at large and within the party. "He doesn't need to be imposed on anybody, by closing his eyes he will get the support of Congress workers. He doesn't need to be imposed," he said while speaking to reporters.  

"As far as Raebareli is concerned, it has been in the family's possession since 1952 when Feroze Gandhi was first elected from there. It has been a Gandhi family bastion. When his mother (Sonia Gandhi) decided that she had reached a stage where she wanted to move aside to the Rajya Sabha, it was fitting that legacy should be taken over by the son," he said. "There is nothing particularly unusual about that." 

Sonia Gandhi vacated the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat after representing it for two decades, from 2004 to 2024. This time, the Congress fielded Rahul Gandhi from this pocket borough. The BJP has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had secured 367,740 votes (38.36%) in 2019. BJP's vote share had surged over 17 per cent from 21% in 2014. Rae Bareli went to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20.   

Speaking on the BJP's target of 400 seats, Tharoor said this was a complete fantasy. "Last time in 2019, thanks to the tragedy in Pulwama and the response in Balakot and the conversion of the election from what should have been a referendum on the economic failures of the first term of Mr Modi, it became a national security election in 2019. As a result, they maxed out in a number of states."

In all those 11 states, he added, those results are impossible to replicate and the opposition is already seeing this very clearly. "The strongholds of BJP have shown minimal turnout and a significant drop in voting figures. Whereas, where the Congress candidates and the INDIA bloc had attracted enthusiasm, the voting was carried out in good numbers. Our confidence has gone up even further," he said.