LS polls: Suspense continues over Amethi, Raebareli candidates as Congress remains indecisive

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge met Rahul earlier in the evening and as per reports by NDTV, he suggested that he and his sister contest from the two prestigious seats in Uttar Pradesh.

However, the final decision was left to them given their "knowledge of the ground reality".

They are expected to convey their decision to him by tonight. Friday is the last date for filing the nomination from these seats which go into voting in the fifth phase.

According to reports, Kharge has suggested to Gandhi that the siblings not contesting from the two seats, considered their family bastions for decades, would send a wrong message, not just to party workers but to the Opposition, the ruling coalition and the voters.

The ramifications will be felt in Uttar Pradesh and the rest of the country.

Amid protests by party workers outside the Amethi Congress office over the announcement of the candidate's name, the central leadership handed Kharge the responsibility of choosing the same, after which he met with Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka.

Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2017.

In the last consecutive general elections, the BJP had swept the polls in Uttar Pradesh, the north Indian state.

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi may be interested in contesting from Amethi for a comeback from the seat. A victory would mean that he might have to surrender the Kerala seat, which sent him to the Lok Sabha in 2019.

His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is expected to step into her mother's shoes in Raebareli.