The main opposition Congress party has named Ajay Rai to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Varanasi constituency in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The announcement has ended weeks of speculation that Priyanka Gandhi, the charismatic sister of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, was going be the party’s candidate for the seat.
Mr Modi won the seat by a huge margin of more than 300,000 votes in 2014, ahead of Aam Admi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal. Mr Rai was in the third spot.
Ms Gandhi has always been considered the more popular of the Gandhi siblings with many blaming her brother’s “lacklustre leadership” for a string of Congress defeats between 2014 and 2018.
In previous elections, she has campaigned in Amethi and Rae Bareli – the parliamentary constituencies of her brother and mother, Sonia Gandhi, respectively – and is held in high esteem by voters there.
But she formally joined politics only in January after she was appointed the party’s general secretary for eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.
Many in the party were hoping that she would be a formidable challenger against Mr Modi. Ms Gandhi herself had hinted that she would contest against the PM if her party asked her to do so.
But the Congress’ announcement has ended the possibility of a so-called “mega contest”.
The party has gained some ground in recent state elections and Mr Gandhi’s stock has risen, but Congress still faces a tough challenge to beat the BJP and regain power.