Amid uncertainty over Rahul Gandhi's candidature in Amethi, posters seeking the candidature of Robert Vadra, husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, have sprung up outside the local party office.
The posters reading "Amethi ki janta kare pukar, Robert Vadra ab ki baar" come as Vadra himself expressed keenness to fight the elections from the traditional Congress constituency. While the BJP has announced sitting MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani as its candidate, the Congress is yet to name its pick. During the 2019 elections, Rahul Gandhi had sought a mandate from Amethi but failed to win against Smrithi.
Rahul too has kept the suspense alive by not confirming his candidature from Amethi. With the last day to file nomination papers being May 3, Rahul said he "would do whatever the party orders him".
Earlier the month, Vadra had projected himself as a potential candidate, saying that the people of Amethi want him to represent the constituency.
Stating that the people of Amethi realised that electing Irani was a mistake, Vadra added: "The people of Amethi expect me to represent their constituency if I decide to become a Member of Parliament. For years the Gandhi family worked hard in Rae Bareli, Amethi and Sultanpur. The people of Amethi are troubled by the current MP, they think they have made a mistake by electing her," he told ANI.
Irani, however, has mocked Vadra's possible candidature, stating that the people of Jagdishpur (a town in Amethi) need to beware and hide their property papers."
"People of Jagdishpur need to beware now. If his brother-in-law knows Jagdishpur, every village, every house, every person now needs to hide their property papers," Irani told her supporters during an election meet.
She also took a dig at Vadra and Rahul Gandhi, saying the former was eyeing the Amethi seat. "Jijaji ki nazar hai, saale sahab kya karenge. brother-in-law is eyeing the seat, what will he (Mr Gandhi) do?) There was a time when people travelling in buses would leave their handkerchiefs to mark their seat so that no one sat on it. Rahul Gandhi will also come to mark his seat with a handkerchief because his brother-in-law is eyeing this seat," she recently told a gathering in Amethi.
"Has this ever happened? Just 27 days left for election but Congress has not announced its candidate. Such arrogance. What I could do in five years, Rahul Gandhi could not do in 15," she added.
