Since Rahul Gandhi was given the address 12 Tughlaq Lane in Lutyens’ Delhi in 2004, when he won his first Lok Sabha election from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, that address has come to be synonymous with the Congressman. Gandhi’s loss of the Amethi constituency in 2019 and a comment Rahul Gandhi made in the same year may now cost him his prestigious address.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday after being found guilty of defamation for saying that “all Modis are thieves.” He now has one month to leave his official home at 12, Tughlaq Lane. Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified by an order that is also addressed to the Liaison Officer of the Directorate of Estates in the Parliament Annexe. The Gandhi family members would suffer an enormous setback if the bungalow is lost, but it would be nothing compared to the danger of being disqualified from running for office one year before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul Gandhi replied to the eviction notice after he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. “I attribute the good memories of my time spent there to the people’s mandate because I was elected to the Lok Sabha for the last four terms. I will, of course, abide by the specifics in your message without putting my rights at risk,” Gandhi wrote in his letter.

Rahul Gandhi’s eviction notice has intensified the political brawl that has broken out since he was disqualified from serving in the Lok Sabha. “They will do everything to weaken him (Rahul Gandhi). He can go live with his mother or he can come to me, I will vacate one for him. Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge said I condemn this attitude of the government to threaten, scare and humiliate.”