Will it be a Gandhi vs Gandhi campaign in UP’s Sultanpur?

Everything was going according to script, till a seat switch happened last month. Maneka Gandhi vacated her safe seat Pilibhit for son Varun, and decided to contest from Sultanpur. And thus began speculation: will the Congress leadership lock horns with Maneka in this campaign?

Varun, despite being in BJP, was known to be friendly with his cousins and “taiji” (aunt). But the same is not said about Maneka. Even as they battled around the state, the Gandhi family did not campaign in Sultanpur in 2014 when Varun sought to paint the seat saffron.

Maneka on her part, has not made things easy with her recent comment that she would campaign in Amethi if BJP asked her to. She has also dismissed the possibility of Rahul becoming PM.

According to a key Congress manager, neither Priyanka nor Rahul has planned to campaign in Sultanpur for party candidate Sanjay Singh. “We will not take any first step,” he added.

In Congress, it is felt that Maneka may have made the statement about campaigning in Amethi because BJP leadership expects her to. But she may not really go too far. Sultanpur goes to polls on May 12.

Rae Bareli-Amethi-Sultanpur used to form part of the Gandhi family stronghold. In fact, Amethi was part of Sultanpur district till it was carved out as a separate district. Sanjay Gandhi became Amethi MP in 1980.

The Gandhis have fought here from rival camps before, like Varun in 2014. But they have rarely locked horns.

The rare clash happened in 1999 when Rajiv Gandhi’s estranged cousin Arun Nehru sought mandate from Rae Bareli on a BJP ticket. Sonia Gandhi was still new to politics and seeking to re-establish the family connect with people after the post-Rajiv hiatus.

“Kya aap us aadmi ko vote doge jisne mere pita ke peeth me chhura bhonka tha?” Priyanka famously asked in that campaign, an emotional outburst widely seen as having turned the election in the family stronghold during Vajpayee’s glory days.