BJP's Amit Malviya has taken a dig at the Congress party for omitting the much-anticipated Amethi seat from its first list of candidates for the upcoming polls. Malviya questioned whether the Congress was "scared" of nominating Rahul Gandhi from the Amethi constituency.
On X, Malviya posted, "Rahul Gandhi won’t contest from Amethi? dar gaya (are you scared)?"
The Congress unveiled its initial list of 39 candidates on Friday, notably excluding nominations for Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, has been listed as a candidate for the Wayanad seat in Kerala, sparking speculation about his return to Amethi, his former stronghold. Gandhi had represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha for three consecutive terms before losing to BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections.
Responding to the absence of Amethi from the Congress's list, BJP's IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya remarked on social media platform X, suggesting Rahul Gandhi's reluctance to contest from his previous constituency. Meanwhile, Smriti Irani, who secured victory in Amethi in 2019, has been nominated again by the BJP.
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Notably, during her visit to Amethi last month, Irani challenged Rahul Gandhi to contest from the constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Rahul Gandhi, during his recent visit to Amethi as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, emphasized his enduring connection with the region, marking his third visit to Amethi in five years.
Amid mounting anticipation, the Congress sealed a seat-sharing agreement with one of its allies, the Samajwadi Party (SP), securing 17 seats out of Uttar Pradesh's 80 constituencies. The pact includes Raebareli and Amethi, historic strongholds of the Nehru-Gandhi family.