Armed With 'Parampara' Trump Card, Can Gandhis Win Over Amethi & Raebareli? Congress Makes Last-Ditch Effort on Turfs

It is the last push and one which the Congress is hopeful will help them cross the winning line. As expected, while fighting for the once-family-bastion, the Grand Old Party has fallen back on ‘Parampara’ [tradition], hoping it emerges as the trump card for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

With about four days left to go for campaigning to end in Amethi and Raebareli, the Congress released a film showing Sonia and Rahul Gandhi going through an old family album with pictures of Rajiv Gandhi among others to make the point that the two constituencies have an old bond with the family.

In fact, now it is Priyanka Vadra who has taken the mantle to directly take on Union minister Smriti Irani, while Rahul Gandhi and others will avoid mentioning her. The reason is simple. The Congress, as part of its plan, has decided to set the narrative that Irani fought from Amethi not because she or the BJP cared for the constituency but because they were driven by an agenda or revenge to hit out at Rahul Gandhi.

So, wherever Priyanka Vadra campaigns, she is the one who takes pot-shots at the minister. In fact, the Congress has released another video which shows women standing in queue for Rs 1 lakh a year promised by the Congress in the manifesto. The film plays a song from the famous and popular serial identified with Irani — ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’.

Having entered the fray late, this is possibly the last try for the Congress to win both Amethi and Raebareli. While the BJP is playing the development card, the Grand Old Party is placing its bets on the Gandhi family card to elicit support and sympathy.

The tagline for Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in Raebareli is “Raebareli ke Rahul”. The inheritor of the Gandhi legacy is the message and the emotion being pushed by the top brass. But the Congress legacy claim is now being countered by the BJP which asks why both the siblings did not contest if the constituency is their home and family bastion.

Other questions include why the duo abandoned and neglected the areas for so long and if Rahul Gandhi will give up Kerala’s Wayanad for Raebareli. For now, no one wants to answer these questions.

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