Rae Bareli: The month of June 2025 marked the completion of a year of Rahul Gandhi’s return to Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh – a Gandhi family borough constituency. In the previous two terms Rahul Gandhi had chosen Wayanad in Kerala before returning to Rea Bareli - a seat that the Indian National Congress have won 18 times since 1952, the BJP twice and the Janata Party once.
Along with Rahul Gandhi Kishori Lal Sharma – a Congress veteran and a Gandhi family loyalist wrested the Amethi seat from BJP in June 2024. In 2024, the Indian National Congress was able to capture 6 seats in Uttar Pradesh after a long time.
What has been Rahul Gandhi’s report card in the past one year in Rae Bareli in this one year? What are the challenges for them in this Congress bastion? What are the challenges for these leaders that had been a traditional Congress bastion but not without political setbacks in the recent past.
Sonia Gandhi made way for Rahul Gandhi to fight the Rae Bareli seat in 2024 along with Wayanad. Rahul won both the seats but later surrendered Wayanad in favour of Rae Bareli where he had registered a record victory having defeated Dinesh Pratap Singh of BJP by a margin of 390030 votes. Rahul Gandhi even surpassed Sonia Gandhi’s victory margin in the earlier Lok Sabha polls indicating that the Congress might be on a comeback trail in UP politics.
The Rae Bareli seat was held from 1967 to 1977 by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and from 2004 until her appointment to the Rajya Sabha in 2024 by Sonia Gandhi.
BJP government’s attempt at putting up obstacles: The Congress District President in Rae Bareli Pankaj Tiwari said that in the year 2024-25, proposals worth crores of rupees were sanctioned from Rahul Gandhi’s MP fund which received the approval of the District Magistrate.
One crore rupees have been approved for interlocking, community building and culvert construction, 40 lakh rupees for high mask and solar light and 80 lakh rupees for classrooms. This work will be completed as soon as the tender formalities are completed.
Pankaj Tiwari pointed out that some delays have occurred because of the BJP government’s attempt at putting up obstacles. Under the MP fund every year an MP can spend 5 crore rupees according to his choice and priority sinjuect to sanction by the competent authority.
“With the Bharatiya Janata Party government, there are more obstacles in approving the budget of MP fund at the administrative level, so the work is getting delayed. Rahul Gandhi has been helping the poor and the needy from time to time personally and on behalf of the party,” say district Congress leaders.
In the midst of such obstacles, Rahul Gandhi was able to donate furniture for the Bar Association and Mool Bharti Hostel from his personal fund. Rahul also sent goods for barber Mithun's shop in Lalganj.
Rahul had made an unscheduled stop at the barber shop in Lalgani soon after his 2024 win and had a trim of his beard. The celebrity visit triggered a sharp rise in clients’ turn out at the barber shop and later Rahul also sent various items to support Mithun, displaying his connect to the grassroots.
Similarly, the District Congress Committee had also helped the needy in Kheer and Rahi areas.
In the past one year, Rahul Gandhi has visited Rae Bareli at least four times.. Recently, Rahul had come on a two-day tour on 29 April. In this, he held a meeting with party workers and interacted with people of backward classes. Inaugurated a two megawatt solar roof top EV charging station at Bisakha Cement Factory in Kundanganj, Bachhrawan.
He also distributed solar carts to the needy.
Rahul Gandhi met the workers of Rae Bareli Rail Coach Factory and those in Lalganj Rail Coach Factory. Apart from this, he also participated in the Disha meeting twice and took updates from the officials about various works. Apart from this, Rahul Gandhi also unveiled the statue of Rana Beni Madhav Singh, Veera Pasi and Subhash Chandra Bose.
Rahul had said, Congress is here to protect the Dalits: Rahul Gandhi had arrived on 20 August 2024 after the Arjun Pasi murder case in Pichwaria village of Nasirabad area of Rae Bareli. The Congress MP then said: “my aim is that every section should be respected in UP and everyone should get justice. It is my job to implement the law, I will not step back. On the murder of a Dalit youth, Rahul Gandhi had said that everyone should get justice in UP, I have come here to protect the Dalits.”
Dinesh Pratap Singh opened a front against Rahul Gandhi: BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh, who had contested the Lok Sabha elections 2024 against Rahul Gandhi but lost, has been a vocal critic of Rahul Gandhi throughout the year. Dinesh Pratap Singh was so upset after his defeat against Rahul Gandhi that he took leave from social and political activities for almost a year. Out of anger, he had even said that the public should now meet their MP Rahul Gandhi and get the work done hinting at Rahul’s alleged scant attention to the constituency.
He also challenged Rahul Gandhi to come to hold a public darbar. However, before a year passed, Dinesh Pratap Singh started conducting the Janta Darshan program. But, he kept verbally attacking Rahul Gandhi from time to time.
Minister of State Dinesh Pratap Singh, who sits right next to Rahul Gandhi in the District Level Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (Disha) meeting, has been attacking Rahul Gandhi at every opportunity. He has been constantly calling him an ‘outsider’ and a leader and MP who stays away from the common people of Rae Bareli.
Rahul Gandhi had reached the Disha meeting on 29 April 2025, again when Singh took a dig at Rahul Gandhi at the end of the meeting calling him a “fake Hindu.” He alleged that Rahul Gandhi did not pay tribute to the martyrs of Pahalgam before the meeting. Singh describes Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Rae Bareli as picnic.
