Priyanka Gandhi fighting from backstage in Amethi, will defeat her: Smriti Irani

New Delhi, May 16 Union Minister Smriti Irani said on Thursday that despite the Gandhi family "packing its bags and running away" from a direct contest in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading the party’s campaign from backstage.

“I believe that Priyanka Gandhi is fighting in Amethi from behind the curtains... She is stategising her party’s campaign from backstage,” Smriti Irani told the news portal 'Know The Nation'.

She also issued a stern warning to the Gandhi siblings, saying that she defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019, and this time Priyanka Gandhi will meet the same fate.

She asserted that the ongoing Lok Sabha election is a fight for Congress' ‘aukaat’ as the Gandhi family, after having abandoned its family bastion Amethi, is now faced with the challenge of saving its last stronghold – Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Smriti Irani, the BJP candidate from Amethi, also blamed the Gandhi family for its "backwardness" and "laggardness" in basic amenities.

She said that despite Amethi being a pocket borough of the Gandhi family and the constituency being represented by them for decades, it didn’t have the basic facilities.

“After I became the MP from Amethi, toilets were built for four lakh families, 1.5 lakh families of the constituency got power connection for the first time. Also, 3.5 lakh families got tap water connection for the first time under the Pradhan Mantri Jal Jeevan Mission, while 1.14 lakh houses were built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana,” Smriti Irani said, as she asked the Gandhi family to explain why they kept the constituency and its people in a state of constant neglect.

“I thought only I was adept at making dialogues,” she quipped, taking a jibe at the claims of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi regarding developmental work in Amethi and Raebareli.

When questioned about winning the Amethi seat and the hearts of its residents, she said people there felt cheated by the Gandhis and it was only after they were sent packing in 2019 that the residents realised that there is not always deceit and trickery in ‘Dil ka Rishta’.

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