Dinesh Pratap Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party nominee for the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, officially entered the electoral fray on Friday afternoon by filing his nomination papers.

Prior to submitting his nomination papers, Singh led a roadshow through the city streets, drawing a significant turnout of BJP supporters and party leaders and workers.

Expressing his confidence in the upcoming electoral battle, Singh declared, “This time, history will witness a transformation in Rae Bareli. The people are enthusiastic about giving a third term to Narendra Modi as prime minister.”

The 56-year-old member of UP Legislative Council is no stranger to challenging the dominance of the Gandhi family in the region. In the 2019 election, he narrowed Sonia Gandhi’s victory margin from 3.52 lakh votes in 2014 to 1.67 lakh votes. This time Singh will face Rahul Gandhi in the constituency which his mother, Sonia Gandhi, held from 2004 to 2024.

Singh, who currently serves as Minister of State for Horticulture, Agricultural Marketing, Agricultural Foreign Trade, and Agriculture Export (Independent Charge) in Uttar Pradesh, remains undeterred by the formidable challenge posed by the Gandhi scion.

He said, “The departure of pseudo-Gandhis from Rae Bareli is inevitable. The victory of BJP’s ‘lotus’ is assured and Congress will face defeat in the constituency. Having contested against Sonia Gandhi herself, the presence of Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi holds little significance to me. Any Gandhi who ventures into Rae Bareli will meet the same fate.”

Hailing from Gunawar Kamangalpur village in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh, Singh’s political trajectory saw a significant upswing following his entry into the BJP fold in 2018. His commendable performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections earned him a nomination to the legislative council and subsequently a ministerial berth when Chief Minister Adityanath secured a second term in 2022.

With deep-rooted ties with the Thakur community and a family history of political influence in Rae Bareli, Singh emerges as a formidable contender, poised to challenge the traditional stronghold of the Gandhi family in the region.