Union Minister Smriti Irani has challenged Rahul Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Uttar Pradesh today, to contest from her former constituency Amethi.
“In 2019 he had left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he has confidence, let him fight from Amethi, without going to Wayanad (Mr Gandhi’s constituency),” Ms Irani told NDTV.
“The empty streets of Amethi tell us what they feel about Rahul Gandhi,” said Ms Irani, who held a public interaction in Amethi as part of a four-day tour of her parliamentary constituency.
Amethi used to be a Congress stronghold in the state, where Rahul Gandhi lost to the BJP leader by a margin of around 55,000 votes in the 2019 elections.
With 80 seats, Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of MPs to Parliament. In the last general elections, Congress got only one seat – Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli. While Rahul Gandhi lost in Amethi, he won in remote Wayanad by a huge margin.
By 2024, Sonia Gandhi will go to Rajya Sabha and has called on the people of Rae Bareli to “stay with my family”.
The question is which member of the family will stand from Rae Bareli.
Taking aim at the Gandhi family, Ms Irani said, “Nobody had imagined that the Gandhi family would give up their seats.”
Congress is still in a dilemma whether Rahul Gandhi will try to recapture the Congress stronghold or not.
“The CEC (Congress Central Election Committee) will decide who will contest from Amethi. Rahul Gandhi has been an MP from Amethi three times. His father Rajiv Gandhi also used to contest from Amethi. It is a very important constituency for the Congress party. Is.” .,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Babuganj during the day and stay in Amethi at night.
Jairam Ramesh said, “Today is the 37th day of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Babuganj. We will stay in Amethi tonight and reach Rae Bareli tomorrow morning.”
