Overview

• On July 5, Rai announced that Congress-backed winners in the early 2026 village panchayat elections would be strong contenders for tickets in the 2027 state assembly polls.
• He declared on July 6 that he will resign from politics if Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains Varanasi’s MP after the 2029 parliamentary election following a Congress victory in 2027.
• Rai highlighted the BJP government’s record on education by pointing to school closures alongside the expansion of liquor shops, and he cited rising unemployment and inflation as signs of misgovernance.
• He accused the Election Commission of burdening voters with strict document requirements and alleged that unfair tactics influenced the outcome of the 2022 Pindra assembly contest.
• The panchayat-to-assembly ticket approach is designed to bolster the Congress’s grassroots network ahead of key local polls and support the INDI bloc’s bid to challenge BJP dominance in Uttar Pradesh.