The Congress’s 11th-hour, early-morning decision on Amethi and Raebareli contained a big twist. Rahul Gandhi, who was expected to make an all-out bid to win back Amethi, has been announced as the party candidate from Raebareli, the seat vacated recently by his mother Sonia Gandhi when she moved to Rajya Sabha.

In Amethi, the family bastion which defected to the BJP five years ago, the Congress will be represented by Kishori Lal Sharma, a longtime loyalist of the Gandhi family. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could not be convinced to contest from Raebareli — which she had nursed for over a decade on her mother’s behalf.

Both candidates will file their papers today — the last day for filing nominations for the fifth phase of election on May 20.

The Congress decision was announced on Friday after weeks of suspense.

There is concern that the switch of seat for Rahul Gandhi could play into BJP hands, given Union minister Smriti Irani’s victory of 2019 in Amethi. The senior BJP leader is all set to defend the seat and has declared that the Congress delay was the result of cold feet, in view of her imminent victory.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV earlier this week, she said the leadership “is aware that this is a losing seat for them, because if they were so confident of their victory, they would have announced their candidate by now”.

Ms Vadra’s decision not to contest could add to the party’s discomfiture. Many leaders of the Congress suspect that it could create a negative perception that may add reflect on the outcome of the election across the country. Polling on 353 seats is still left, of which the Congress is contesting on 330 seats.

Sources said Ms Vadra’s reluctance stemmed from the fact that her victory from Raebareli could reinforce the BJP allegations of dynasty politics, since all three of them would be in parliament. Sonia Gandhi is already in Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi has contested from Kerala’s Wayanad.

A victory for Mr Gandhi in both Raebareli and Wayanad could lead to a conundrum for the party, since he would have to vacate one of two seats which have equal claims on him.

If Raebareli is the decades-old family bastion, Wayanad is a Congress stronghold which had sent him to the Lok Sabha when Amethi had declined. But that is a bridge the Congress can cross another day.

Former Indian wrestler and Olympic medallist Sakshee Malikkh reacted to BJP’s decision to field former wrestling body chief, Bri Bhushan Singh’s son, Karan Bhushan Singh, as its candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj seat. Brij Bhushan Singh is an accused in a sexual harassment case.

“Daughters of the country lost, Brij Bhushan won. We all put our careers at stake and slept on the streets for many days in the sun and rain. To date, Brij Bhushan has not been arrested. We were not demanding anything, we were only demanding justice,” Sakshee Malikkh wrote on X.

Six-time MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh faced a massive political storm last year when several protesters, including Olympic medallists Sakshee Malikk and Bajrang Punia, along with Vinesh Phogat, hit the streets of Delhi to protest against Mr Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour during his tenure as the President of Wrestling Federation of India. He has denied all allegations against him in the case, which is in court. 

A Delhi court last week dismissed an application by Mr Singh, seeking further examination of evidence concerning his whereabouts on the date — September 7, 2022 — of an alleged sexual harassment incident.

He had told the court that he was not in Delhi when one of the complainant wrestlers was allegedly sexually harassed.
Mr Singh has a strong influence in the Kaiserganj constituency and has represented the Gonda and Balrampur constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. 

The BJP understands knows the political influence the six-time MP holds in the area. Therefore, it has chosen his son as his replacement. Sources in the BJP earlier told NDTV that the party leadership had spoken to him on the issue and that the heavyweight politician was still insisting on a poll pass.

His elder son Pratik Bhushan Singh is an MLA. Karan currently heads the Uttar Pradesh wrestling body.

Meanwhile, celebrations took place at the MP’s home after the BJP announced his son as the candidate for the constituency. “I am thankful to the party leadership and the public that they have allowed me to serve the people here,” Karan Bhushan Singh said. 

Brij Bhushan Singh said, “I am not bigger than the party… I welcome the party’s decision.” 

This is the first time Karan Bhushan Singh will contest elections. 

The parents of a young woman who died allegedly after being given Covishield are planning to sue the world’s largest vaccine maker as well as the British pharma giant that had developed it during the Covid pandemic. This comes after AstraZeneca admitted in court documents in the UK that their vaccine can cause rare side effects that can lead to blood clots and low platelet count.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was manufactured in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII) under the name ‘Covishield’ and was widely administered here.

SII is yet to comment on this matter.

Venugopalan Govindan, who lost his 20-year-old daughter Karunya in 2021, said the admission was “too late” and came after “so many lives have been lost”.

Thanks to @Teensthack for this article. 🙏

I missed to tell Teena that today (May 1st) is Karunya’s birthday and she was the first wedding anniversary gift to me and my wife from the heavens. 😭

Perhaps due to editorial/space constraints few core points I gave missed to make… pic.twitter.com/bjJjHOc1aM

— Venugopalan Govindan (@gvenugopalan) May 1, 2024

In an online post, he said the Serum Institute should have stopped the vaccine supply after the 15 European countries had restricted its usage over deaths from blood clots. He said the grieving parents are fighting for justice in various courts, but are not getting a hearing.

“If sufficient remedies aren’t obtained, for the sake of justice and to prevent recurrence of this atrocity that was perpetrated in the name of public health, we will file fresh cases against any and all of those perpetrators because of whose actions the deaths of our children ensued. Eight of the victims’ families have connected and I am echoing the common sentiments of all of us,” he said.

@SerumInstIndia & @adarpoonawalla will have to answer for their sins. For the lives lost.

Also the Govt authorities that approved the rollout when there was zero need as the COVID waves had subsided (see the graphs) and watched from the sidelines when more than 100 deaths were… pic.twitter.com/jcUBwdW70S

— Venugopalan Govindan (@gvenugopalan) May 1, 2024

“Serum Institute of India and Adar Poonawalla will have to answer for their sins. For the lives lost,” Mr Govindan wrote in an online post, also accusing government authorities for approving the rollout of the vaccine.

Rachana Gangu, who lost her daughter Rithaika (18) in 2021, and Mr Govindan had earlier filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking the appointment of a medical board to probe the deaths of their daughters and prepare a protocol for the early detection of the impact of vaccinations, besides compensation.

AstraZeneca is already facing a class action lawsuit in the UK over claims in at least 51 cases that its vaccine caused deaths and severe injuries in several cases. It had recently admitted that its vaccine can cause “in very rare cases, cause TTS”. TTS stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, which causes blood clots and a low blood platelet count in humans.

The UK government, which has secured AstraZeneca from legal action, is yet to intervene in the matter.