RAEBARELI — Congress president Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination from the Congress bastion of Rae Bareli on Wednesday amidst cheering crowds in the district. She was driven to the district collector's office by her son and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to file her nomination. “The people of Rae Bareli have accepted me with a lot of love. I am hopeful Rae Bareli will elect me again,” Sonia said shortly after filing her nomination. Sonia is seeking re-election for the third time, having won by huge margins in 2009 and 2004 from Rae Bareli. While the Samajwadi Party has not fielded a candidate against her this time, the BJP has put up Supreme Court advocate Ajay Agarwal, who is from Shahjahanpur in the state and is the son of a RSS worker. The Congress has lost Rae Bareli only thrice in the past — in the Janata wave of 1977 when Raj Narain beat Indira Gandhi; and in 1996 and 1998 when the BJP candidate was victorious. The Raebareli residents are supporting Sonia Gandhi. “Sonia Gandhi has done good work for our city. I do support Sonia Gandhi,” said a resident. Rae Bareli will vote on April 30.
