Facing no serious threat from her opponents and even Samajwadi Party not fielded any candidate against her, Congress president Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination papers to seek her entry in the lok Sabha from Rae Bareli parliamentary seat. The entire route through which local MP took out a road show to reach for filing nomination, witnessed a ‘petal shower’ and the vehicle on which Sonia was traveling, and her son Rahul was driving, was covered with rose petal.
Sonia, accompanied by her son and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, along with her family friend, Capt Satish Sharma, and incharge of her Parliamentary constituency, Kl Sharma, filed two sets of nominations papers at Collectrate compound in Rae Bareli on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier, Sonia Gandhi reached at Fursatganj airport in Rae Bareli and reached the collectorate premises amid much fan fare. The locals gathered in the way from airport to the collectorate in large numbers on both sides of the roads. Having elected from here in lok Sabha elections of 2004, by-poll in 2006 and 2009, the Congress president is contesting for the third time from Rae Bareli going to polls in the fourth phase in Uttar Pradesh on April 30 next.
As per Gandhi family’s tradition, Sonia attended a puja and havan ceremony at the residence of late Congress leader Gaya Prasad Shukla before filing the nominations. Speaking to the gathering outside the collectorate compound, the Congress president thanked the local people for their love and affection showered on her. She hoped to maintain same level of cordial relationship with people of Rae Bareli in future.
like the past occasion, Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Vadra and her husband Robert Vadra did not accompany her this time. Ms Vadra is the representative of Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. From collectorate, she proceeded to Takia, where she paid obeisance at the mazar of Ali Mian, the tradition she always followed after filing the nomination papers.
Sonia Gandhi is a three-time MP from Rae Bareli, including once when she was elected in a by-election in 2006 after she resigned over profit of post issue. In 2004 polls, she shifted to Rae Bareli from Amethi, leaving it to her son Rahul Gandhi.