The remarks come after Robert Vadra sparked speculation that he may contest the Amethi seat, a Congress stronghold where Smriti Irani won in 2019. Amethi votes on May 20 in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls.
Union Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and his brother-in-law Robert Vadra over the Congress party’s failure to announce a Lok Sabha candidate for Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi seat yet. Irani asserted that in her five years, she secured more work in the constituency than Gandhi did in his fifteen.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Smriti Irani won from Congress stronghold Amethi. The BJP leader's comments coincided with rumors that Robert Vadra, Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, may make his electoral debut from the Amethi Parliamentary constituency.
"Saale sahab kya karenge, Jijaji ki nazar hai. (Gandhi's brother-in-law is glancing at the seat; what will he do?) There was a time when people travelling in buses would leave their handkerchief to mark their seat so that no one sits on it. Rahul Gandhi will also come to mark his seat with a handkerchief because his brother-in-law is eyeing this seat,” Irani was quoted as saying during a rally in Amethi.
"With just 27 days to go until the election, Congress has yet to declare a candidate. Such arrogance. Rahul Gandhi could not do in fifteen years what I accomplished in five," the Union Minister continued.
Earlier this month, Robert Vadra, the husband of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said the people of Amethi are not happy with sitting MP Irani, as she is busy bashing the Gandhi family.
Amethi goes to polls in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha election 2024 on May 5. Rahul Gandhi served as the representative of Amethi in the Lok Sabha for three consecutive terms up to his loss by Smriti Irani in 2019. In addition, the late Sanjay Gandhi, his uncle, and his parents, Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi, have all held the seat.
BJP has won the seat only thrice including Irani’s 2019 win in the history of Lok Sabha elections in Amethi.