RAE BARELI: During a campaign rally in Rae Bareli, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi humorously remarked that now, he will have to get married soon when asked about his marriage plans, eliciting a lively response from the crowd. Rahul Gandhi, running for the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, was joined by his sister and fellow Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the rally.

Addressing the rally for the first time since his nomination, Rahul Gandhi responded to a familiar question from the crowd about his marriage plans. As he concluded his speech and called his sister Priyanka to the front of the dais, someone asked, "When is he getting married?" After a brief pause to comprehend the question, he said in Hindi, "Ab jaldi karni padegi" (Now I will have to get married very soon), much to the crowd's delight.

Rahul Gandhi thanked his sister for her efforts in the Rae Bareli campaign, saying, "I am touring different parts of the country for the election, and my sister is spending time here. A big thanks to her for this."

Earlier this month, after much anticipation, the Congress announced that Rahul Gandhi would contest from the historic Gandhi family seat of Rae Bareli instead of the traditional stronghold of Amethi, where he lost to Union minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections. In Amethi, the party fielded Kishorilal Sharma, a longtime representative of the Gandhi family.

In addition to contesting the Rae Bareli seat against Congress defector and three-time MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP, Rahul Gandhi is also running from Kerala's Wayanad, which he won in 2019. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also the AICC general secretary, chose not to run for office this time. Rahul represented Rae Bareli from 2004 to 2019, following his father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who held the seat from 1981 until his death in 1991.

Priyanka has been active in the campaign, leading strategy, management, and public engagement. The party has planned for her to conduct over 250 meetings in various villages and remote areas of both constituencies, including roadshows, public meetings, and interactions with civil society members and association representatives.