Amethi, unlike Wayanad, also holds immense political and personal significance for Rahul and the Gandhi family. Amethi had marked the successful electoral debut of Rahul’s father, the late Rajiv Gandhi, in the 1981 Lok Sabha by-election following the sudden demise of sitting MP and Rahul’s uncle Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash. Rajiv won the seat in the 1984, 1989 and 1991 general elections (though he was assassinated before the results for the 1991 polls came out). Sonia Gandhi too marked her successful electoral debut from Amethi in 1999 before vacating the seat and moving to Rae Bareli in 2004 when Rahul took the electoral plunge. Unlike Wayanad, Amethi is a backward constituency, an undistinguished part of UP despite electing high-profile MPs like the four Gandhis or even Smriti Irani. As such, Rahul should have realised that he needs to nurse Amethi with much more dedication than what he is now showing towards Wayanad.