By Ashish Singh
Dear Mr. Rahul Gandhi,
As a citizen of Rae Bareli, I write to you with deep respect for your position and an even deeper concern for the condition of our constituency. Rae Bareli has been entrusted to your family for generations. It has been both a political bastion and a symbol of enduring trust between elected representatives and the people they serve. That trust is precious, but it is not permanent. It must be renewed, not by speeches or ceremonies, but by time, by presence, and by the hard, often unglamorous work of solving the problems that shape people’s daily lives.
Today Rae Bareli stands at a crossroads. It struggles with problems that cannot be resolved through token visits or routine inaugurations. The district hospitals, once a source of pride, now carry a reputation scarred by reports of corruption, inadequate facilities and a shortage of specialists. Villages are still waiting for proper chakbandi, a process that could modernise agriculture and reduce disputes but remains trapped in outdated bureaucracy. Roads are not just deteriorating, many of them are dangerous, unlit at night, uneven in construction and often blocked by unchecked encroachments. The electricity supply remains unreliable; frequent power cuts disrupt homes, businesses, schools and health services. Drainage and sanitation are in disrepair, leaving neighbourhoods flooded even after mild rains, spreading both inconvenience and disease.
Law and order too demands urgent attention. The quiet spread of criminal elements has created an undercurrent of fear. It affects businesses, discourages investment, and erodes civic confidence. Extortion, intimidation and petty violence may not always reach headlines, but they eat into the foundation of public safety. Women and the elderly in particular feel vulnerable, not just on isolated roads at night but even in busy markets.
Our city’s young people, full of ambition, are forced to leave for better education and opportunities elsewhere. Rae Bareli still lacks a modern university that could anchor talent, attract industries, foster innovation and create pride in staying and building here. Without such an institution, the best minds are trained elsewhere and rarely return. The absence of skilled employment opportunities compounds this drain of human capital.
Basic civic amenities remain uneven. Clean drinking water is still a challenge in several wards. Parks and community spaces, which give cities their social heart, are neglected or overcrowded. Waste management is erratic, with garbage piling up near schools and hospitals, undermining both dignity and health. Adding to this is an almost invisible network of civil society organisations. Where active civic groups thrive, they bring energy, accountability and hope to even the most neglected corners of society. Their absence here leaves the needy without a voice, the marginalised without a partner, and public life without the gentle but vital pressure of citizen-driven change. Encouraging such organisations would not only improve service delivery but also create a healthier atmosphere of shared responsibility.
One may argue that many of these matters belong to state authorities. But leadership is not only about statutory power. It is about using one’s voice, influence and authority to make the people’s concerns impossible to ignore. An MP is not expected to single-handedly build roads, clean drains or fill hospital vacancies, but he is expected to demand them, to follow up, to expose delays, to pressure bureaucracies and to turn local frustrations into national priorities. Silence or distance, even if unintended, begins to feel like abandonment.
Rae Bareli can and should aspire to be a model city and district. It has history, political attention and human talent. What it needs now is vision matched with relentless action. Imagine a Rae Bareli where clean streets, safe public spaces, functioning hospitals, reliable electricity, modern schools, digital infrastructure, strong agriculture, active civic groups and thriving local industries stand together as proof that political loyalty can be rewarded not with nostalgia but with progress.
This is not a plea born of impatience. It is a reminder of responsibility. You have been entrusted not merely with a seat in Parliament but with the future of a constituency that has stood by your family through India’s political storms. It deserves more than periodic visits and symbolic gestures. It deserves your time, your listening, your advocacy and your courage to turn promises into reality. Legacy, no matter how deep, cannot carry a city into the future unless it is matched with daily, deliberate, visible care.
Respectfully,
A concerned citizen of Rae Bareli
Ashish Singh has finished his Ph.D. coursework in political science from the NRU-HSE, Moscow, Russia.
11 September 2025
Source: countercurrents.org