Rahul was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Lucknow: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday filed his nomination papers from the Nehru-Gandhi stronghold of Raebareli from where his mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had been winning the Lok Sabha polls since 2004. Friday was the last day for filing nominations for the seat.
Rahul was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Earlier Rahul was accorded a warm reception upon his arrival at the Congress office in Raebareli by hundreds of Congress workers, who cheered the Congress leader all the way to the Collectorate.
A customary puja was held at the Raebareli Congress office after Rahul filed his nomination papers. Rahul also took part in the puja, a ritual started by Sonia Gandhi in the 2004 LS polls.
The Congress leader was to go to the Collectorate in a specially designed vehicle but owing to the crowd, he remained inside his vehicle and later went to file the nomination papers. A large number of Samajwadi Party (SP) workers were also part of the procession that followed Rahul.
Although Rahul’s candidature from Raebareli was sharply criticised by the BJP, which said that the shift from Amethi to Raebareli was an indication of ‘fear’ that he might again lose in Amethi, local Congress leaders said that by fielding Rahul from Raebareli, Sonia Gandhi had fulfilled the promise she had made to the electorate of the constituency.