"Shatranj ki kuch chaale baaki...": Jairam Ramesh says Rahul's candidacy from Rae Bareli is "well strategized"

New Delhi [India], May 3 : Amid huge uproar in the political circles over Rahul Gandhi's candidacy from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that it is a well-strategized move of the party and that other facets of the decision remain to be seen.
The senior Congress leader said that this move by the Congress party has devastated the Bhartiya Janata party who was keenly eyeing the decision for the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in a post on X, wrote "Many people have many opinions on the news of Rahul Gandhi contesting elections from Rae Bareli. But he is a seasoned player of politics and chess. He makes his moves after careful consideration. The party leadership has taken this decision after a lot of deliberation and strategy. This decision has devastated the BJP, its supporters and sycophants".
"Rae Bareli has not only been Sonia ji's seat but also Indira Gandhi's seat. This is not a legacy but a responsibility, a duty", he added.
Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political outreach, the Congress veteran raised questions on PM Modi's candidacy just from Vidhyachal and not the southern part of India.
"As far as the Gandhi family's stronghold is concerned, not just Amethi-Rae Bareli, the entire country from north to south is the stronghold of the Gandhi family. Rahul Gandhi has become an MP three times from Uttar Pradesh and once from Kerala, but why couldn't Modiji muster the courage to contest elections below Vindhyachal?," Ramesh wrote in a tweet.
On Congress loyalist KL Sharma being announced as party's candidate from Amethi, Ramesh said that "an ordinary worker" of Congress will break both the illusion and arrogance of BJP in Amethi.
On Priyanka Gandhi's absence from the Congress list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024, he said that she can reach the house by contesting any by-election.
Launching an attack on the incumbent Amethi MP Smriti Irani, Ramesh wrote "Today Smriti Irani's only identity is that she contests elections from Amethi against Rahul Gandhi. Now Smriti Irani has lost that fame too. Now instead of making useless statements, Smriti Irani should answer about local development, the closed hospitals, steel plant and IIIT - that needs to be answered".
Hinting at further strategic moves by the party, amid the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Jairam Ramesh wrote, "There are some chess moves left, please wait a bit".
After days of suspension over its candidates from Amethi and Rae Bareli, the Congress party on Friday announced its candidates from both the seats.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been fielded from Rae Bareli whereas party loyalist KL Sharma has been announced as the Congress candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.