Rahul Gandhi has formally informed the Lok Sabha Speaker's office of his decision to keep the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and relinquish the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by submitting a formal letter to the latter.

Priyanka Gandhi will be making her debut in a Lok Sabha by-election, as Rahul Gandhi has chosen to retain the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh, one of the two seats he contested and won.

"I have an emotional connection with both Wayanad and Rae Bareli. And for the last five years, being an MP from Wayanad has been a fantastic experience and enjoyable experience. I thank people who stood with me, I thank the people of Wayanad who gave me love and affection. They gave me the energy to fight in a very difficult time. So I will never forget that… I will be a frequent visitor to Wayanad and I will be available to the people of Wayanad and the commitments we have made will stand up to them and the will to deliver all those commitments. I have an old relationship with Rae Bareli, I am happy that I will get to represent them again, but it was a tough decision," Rahul Gandhi said.

The decision followed a meeting at Congress leader Kharge's residence, attended by senior party figures such as Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and general secretaries K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi. ANI