Kharge authorised to decide Amethi, Raebareli candidates, says Congress

New Delhi: Amid speculation over whether Gandhi family members would contest the Lok Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh and Raebareli, the Congress on Monday said its Central Election Committee (CEC) has authorised party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to decide the candidates for the two constituencies.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress has urged the top party leadership to field Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the two seats. Asked when the candidates for the two seats would be announced and whether Gandhi family members would be fielded from there, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “The president has been authorised to decide the candidates. Elections are not run in a hidden manner, they are run with all paraphernalia before everyone. You will get to know when the candidates are announced.”

“In our party, such decisions are not taken by two people in (behind) closed doors, the CEC has put forward its views and with its and the president’s nod, the candidates will be decided,” she said. Rahul Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala’s Wayanad, where polling took place on Friday in the second phase of the polls.

He had said earlier that he will follow “whatever order” he gets from his party.