Someone has to take charge of Raebareli: Mumtaz Patel on Rahul Gandhi's poll choice

Surat (Gujarat) [India], May 3 : Congress leader Mumtaz Patel, daughter of veteran party leader late Ahmed Patel, said that the decision of Rahul Gandhi contesting from Raebareli was taken after "due deliberation".
"...Both Amethi and Raebareli are family bastions. Since Sonia Gandhi is in Rajya Sabha this time, someone has to take charge of Raebareli seat this time. This decision must have been taken with due deliberation - that is why Rahul Gandhi had to choose Raebareli and not Amethi this time," Patel said.
Alleging that the decision of Rahul Gandhi to contest from Raebareli was imposed on the party workers at the last moment, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) leader Rohan Gupta said, "It is not about a particular candidate, it is about the overall narrative. This decision should have been well thought of, well strategized in advance and well executed rather than imposing this decision at the last moment on the workers and on the leaders and on the people."
Rahul Gandhi, who is the incumbent MP from Wayanad in Kerala and is re-contesting from the seat, lost from Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to Union Minister Smriti Irani. Rahul Gandhi had won Amethi three times in a row till 2019.
Congress has fielded KL Sharma, a loyalist of the Gandhi family, from Amethi against Smriti Irani.
Elections in Amethi and Raebareli will be held on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase poll process.