Priyanka not contesting from Varanasi. Whose decision it was? Congress reveals

The Congress has fielded Ajay Rai from Varanasi to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcement was made by the party on Thursday.

Congress General Secretary and Uttar Pradesh - East incharge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Photo: PTI/ FILE IMAGE

NEW DELHI: The Congress has fielded Ajay Rai from Varanasi to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcement was made by the party on Thursday. It also ended speculation on a possible blockbuster electoral duel between Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the PM Modi in the Uttar Pradesh's temple town. Speculation on Priyanka making her political debut from Varanasi was fuelled after Congress president Rahul Gandhi, to a question on whether he planned to field his sister against PM Modi, said last week, "I will leave you in suspense. Suspense is not always a bad thing." Also, the latest entrant from the Nehru-Gandhi family had last month sent ripples across the political spectrum after her swift riposte "Why not Varanasi" to the party workers' request to contest elections from her mother Sonia Gandhi's constituency Rae Bareli. On Friday, Congress leader Sam Pitroda said it was Priyanka Gandhi's own decision not to contest against Modi. "The party president had left the final decision on her," Pitroda said when reporters asked him about Rahul Gandhi not fielding his sister from the high-profile constituency. "She decided that she has several responsibilities. She decided that rather than concentrating on one seat, she should focus on the job she has at hand," Pitroda, who heads the Indian Overseas Congress, said. "So that decision was finally hers and she decided it," he said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley targeted the Congress on Thursday saying he was "disappointed" by the party's decision of not fielding Priyanka Gandhi against Modi after building up a "suspense for an eventual thriller" in the Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, Modi won the seat by a margin of over three lakh votes against Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal. While Modi got over 5,81,000 votes, Rai managed about 75,000 votes.