'Why not Varanasi,' Priyanka Gandhi teases on request to contest from Rae Bareli

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday sent ripples across the political spectrum after her instant retort "why not Varanasi" (the Lok Sabha seat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi) to the party workers request to contest the upcoming elections from her mother Sonia Gandhi's parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka's remark came at an interactive session with the party workers and village heads of Rae Bareli. As the Congress in charge of eastern UP, she had told the people that her mother was upset as she was unable to address them herself, for which some workers asked her to contest from Rae Bareli.

At this, she smilingly said: "Why not Varanasi?", reported IANS.

The Congress in charge also said that she had told her mother not to worry as she would look at the work of her constituency.

Even though her quick response of contesting from Varanasi seems just as a counter, the younger Gandhi had earlier said that she is ready to contest if the party asks her to. If Priyanka stands against Modi in Varanasi, it would the most high-profile contest of the current Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier in the day, Priyanka said that she has been given the key task of strengthening her party in UP, even beyond the Lok Sabha elections and ensure it comes back to power in the 2022 Assembly elections.

Priyanka Gandhi is the newest addition to the Congress party, she was appointed as the party in charge of eastern UP in January. Since she joined the party, she was called as the Congress trump card in the soil of UP CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi.

Earlier, it was speculated that after Priyanka joins the Congress, her mother will retire from the party and she will contest from her mother's constituency. But when Congress published its first list of candidates the former Congress presidents name was there along with Rahul Gandhi.

(with IANS inputs)