Robert Vadra's 'before me in Parliament' reaction to Priyanka Gandhi's Wayanad move

Robert Vadra expressed happiness over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's candidature for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypolls.

Updated on: Jun 18, 2024, 15:23:04 IST

By HT News Desk

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Robert Vadra, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, reacted to the party's move to field his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Wayanad on Tuesday, saying he will follow her in the Parliament "whenever it is the right time".

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with Robert Vadra. (File photo)

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's brother Rahul Gandhi had won the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli and Wayanad earlier this month. On Monday, he announced his decision to relinquish the Kerala seat, paving the way for his sister's foray into electoral politics.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been campaigning for the Congress party in Amethi and Rae Bareli for decades, but she officially entered active politics before the 2019 general elections. Unlike her brother and mother, she has never contested an election.

"First, I would like to thank the people of India for teaching a lesson to the BJP. They played religion-based politics. I am happy that Priyanka Gandhi is going to fight from Wayanad. She should be in Parliament, not because she has been campaigning but I want her to be in the Parliament," Robert Vadra told PTI.

Also read: 'Wayanad to have 2 MPs…': Rahul Gandhi's first reaction to Congress's Priyanka Gandhi move

He, however, appeared to signal that he wants to be a member of the Parliament.

"She should be in the Parliament before me. I can follow whenever is the right time. I am happy, and I hope people will give her a good mandate," he added.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Robert Vadra had claimed there were demands from many parts of the country for him to contest the polls from Amethi, the Gandhi family's stronghold.

Also read: BJP labels Congress as 'family business' after Priyanka Gandhi's Wayanad move

“The demand for me to represent this constituency is coming from different corners of the nation. People understand my hard work and want me to represent their constituency so that development can take place and problems faced by them get resolved,” he had said.

However, the Congress high command fielded the Gandhi family's loyalist, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi.KL Sharma later defeated BJP's Smriti Irani, who had defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019.

Also read: Robert Vadra drops another hint at contesting from Amethi: ‘Getting calls from…’

Over Amethi snub, the BJP had taken a jibe at Vadra, saying he was being sidelined.

Robert Vadra, reacting to the BJP remark, had said no power or positions of politics could come between him and his family.

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