Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani filed her nomination as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Amethi parliamentary seat on April 29. Amethi is slated to go to polls in the fifth phase on May 20, with the deadline for filing nominations set for May 3.Just a day earlier, Irani visited Ayodhya to take the blessings of Ramlala ahead of filing her nomination. Speaking to reporters, the minister said that she prayed for the good health of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, progress of the nation and the well-being of the residents of Amethi, her Lok Sabha constituency.
"Today, I consider myself fortunate to be born in an era that saw our Ram Lalla being installed from a tent to a grand temple, through a grand ceremony. Sought blessings at the feet of Ram Lalla for the progress of the nation, good health of pradhaan sevak (prime minister) and prayed for India's glory," she said.The BJP has declared Irani the party's candidate from the seat in the Lok Sabha elections. In 2019 polls, she had defeated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The Congress has so far not declared its candidate for Amethi, election is slated for the fifth phase on May 20.
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Amethi and Raebareli are crucial for Congress in the upcoming elections. Rahul Gandhi lost the Amethi seat to Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Irani is once again the BJP candidate for Amethi. Before the 2019 defeat, Amethi was considered a stronghold of the Congress.Uttar Pradesh, which elects 80 members to Parliament--the highest by any state--is voting in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections.Polls in Uttar Pradesh are stretched over the seven phases that started on April 19 and ends on June 1. The counting will take place on June 4.