An Indian state court won’t stay Rahul Gandhi’s defamation verdict in a blow to his election hopes

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian state court has refused to stay opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for criminal defamation. Friday’s ruling sets back his prospects to contest elections next year. He had been ousted from Parliament after his conviction in March, and a stay would have opened up a path to reinstate his parliamentary seat. The defamation case involved comments Gandhi made in 2019 that were deemed to be insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. Gandhi can still seek to stay the conviction to a larger bench of the Gujarat high court or to the Supreme Court of India. He risks losing his eligibility to run in elections for eight years if a court doesn’t overturn his conviction and two-year sentence.