Smriti Irani dares Rahul Gandhi to contest from Amethi

Tribune News Service

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, February 19

Shorty before the General Election that may see yet another showdown between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani for the seat, Amethi saw a mini war between the two high-profile contenders with Rahul and Irani both descending on the UP constituency on Monday.

While Rahul tried to evoke sentiments of the voters by referring to his old connections with the constituency, Irani, BJP leader and Union Minister, challenged him to contest from Amethi again in the coming elections.

Rahul, a three-time MP from the family bastion, lost the seat to Irani in 2019 by a margin of over 55000 votes. Addressing a public meeting in the constituency today, Rahul reminded people of the “old relationship” he shared with them. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who also addressed the meeting, read out a couplet to appeal to people to vote for Rahul. “If you really try hard you may find someone to support, but you won’t find anyone like him,” Kharge said in verse pointing at Rahul.

Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, when asked whether Rahul would be contesting from Amethi in 2024, said the party’s central election committee (CEC) would take a decision in this regard.

“Rahul Gandhi has been an MP from Amethi thrice. His father Rajiv Gandhi too used to contest from Amethi. It is a very important constituency for Congress party,” Ramesh said. A combative Union Minister Smriti Irani, who landed in Amethi on Monday for a four-day tour of the constituency, challenged Rahul to contest from his erstwhile constituency.

“In 2019, he left Amethi, today Amethi has left him. If he is confident, then without going to Wayanad (Gandhi’s present constituency located in Kerala), let him fight from Amethi”, Irani said today.

“Amethi’s empty roads tell us what they feel about Rahul Gandhi” Irani, who held a “Jan Samwad” in Amethi today, said.

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