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Robert Vadra says Amethi expects him to contest against Smriti Irani
Robert Vadra said Amethi has understood its mistake of electing Smriti Irani and wants a Gandhi family member back.
Businessman and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra on Thursday said Amethi's people want him to contest from the constituency against the sitting MP Smriti Irani. "The people of Amethi understood their mistake. And I feel now they want a Gandhi family member to represent the constituency. Even I get requests from Amethi people that if I join politics, I should choose Amethi. I remember, my first political campaign with Priyanka was in Amethi in 1999," Robert Vadra said in an interview to news agency ANI.
Amethi became a hot seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election after Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi from the seat that belonged to the Gandhi bastion for decades. Rahul Gandhi won Amethi in 2004, 2009 and 2014 but the Smriti Irani broke the record. The Congress has not yet announced the candidate for Amethi and Raebarelli while Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Wayanad. Apart from Amethi, Raebareli gained significance this time as Sonia Gandhi, the sitting MP, moved to the Rajya Sabha.
Speculations were rife that Rahul Gandhi would contest from both Amethi and Wayanad like 2019 and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might make her electoral debut from Raebareli. But the suspense continued as there was no confirmation on either. Now Robert Vadra's statement dropped a major hint that he was open to contesting the election from Amethi.
"Amethi is upset with the sitting MP and the people of Amethi have understood their mistake. The sitting MP is abusing her power to make a lot of noise, to accuse the Gandhi family. For years, the Gandhi family worked hard in Raebareli, Amethi and Sultanpur. Now that Amethi people are repenting for electing Smriti Irani instead of Rahul Gandhi, I feel they want a Gandhi family member to represent them. They approach me also to consider Amethi if I want to be an MP," Robert Vadra said.
"Those people with whom I worked there are still in touch with me. They wish me on my birthday, they reach out to me through social media. They know how much I am involved in charity, so they too organise such camps on my birthdays," Vadra added.
BJP's Manjinder Singh Sirsa reacted to Robert Vadra's statement and said it proved that the party could not come out of dynastic politics. "What certificate does Robert Vadra have apart from being the son-in-law of the Gandhi family? Today people are saying that there are five power centres in the Congress. But the party does not want to change that either," the BJP leader said.
Smriti Irani becomes a voter of Amethi
Smriti Irani on Wednesday applied to become a voter in Amethi after she got a permanent address in her constituency. Smriti Irani has become a voter of booth number 347 in Medan Mawai village of Gauriganj assembly seat which falls under the Amethi parliamentary constituency. Her newly built house is in the same village. In Wayanad, Smriti Irani criticised Rahul Gandhi and said the Congress MP used to call Amethi his house, his family but now he changed his house and family to Wayanad.
