'Will not contest Lok Sabha election due to health, age issues': Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi acknowledged the enduring support and love she has received from the people of Rae Bareli and recalled how people embraced her family roots
Indian Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election due to health concerns.
In an emotional message, the former Congress chief informed the voters of the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which she has represented since 2004, that she will not contest the upcoming general elections due to health and age issues.
"I am proud to say that whatever I am today, I am because of you and I have always done my best to honour your trust. Now on account of health and age issues, I will not contest the next Lok Sabha election," she said in the message.
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"After this decision, I will not get the opportunity to serve you directly, but my heart and soul will always be with you. I know that you will stand by me and my family in future, just as you have in the past," she said.
The announcement came a day after the 77-year-old filed her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan.
There are speculations that Gandhi's daughter and party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might contest from the Rae Bareli seat in the upcoming general elections.
Gandhi acknowledged the enduring support and love she has received from the people of Rae Bareli and recalled how people embraced her family roots, which are deep and strong.
"Our family's ties with Rae Bareli run very deep. In the first Lok Sabha elections held after independence, you made my father-in-law Feroze Gandhi win from here and sent him to Delhi. After him, you made my mother-in-law Indira Gandhi your own. From then till now, this series has continued with love and enthusiasm through the ups and downs and difficult paths of life, and our faith in it has become stronger," she said in an emotional message to the people of her constituency.
Gandhi entered politics in 1998 as the Congress president, and in 1999, she was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Amethi. Her subsequent rise made her the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and later, in the 2004 general elections, she won from Rae Bareli.
