Lok Sabha Elections 2019: In the wake of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accusing Smriti Irani of distributing "money, sarees and shoes" in Amethi, the BJP leader has hit back saying its the matter of happiness that the Congress general secretary is counting the number of days that the BJP leader had visited Amethi. Irani further said, the Vadra is doing this as she is unable to tell the public where was Rahul Gandhi for last 15 years. "It is a matter of happiness that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is counting the number of days I have visited Amethi as she is unable to tell the public where the ‘missing MP’ was for 15 years," said Union Minister Smriti Irani.

Irani, who is contesting against the sitting MP Gandhi from Amethi, on Tuesday targeted Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, saying that the Congress president has now become "a missing candidate as well" after remaining a "missing MP". She said the Congress party's condition "is so bad" that it has to call party workers from other states for campaigning in the Gandhi family bastion. "Had Rahul worked for Amethi, the condition of Congress would not have been so miserable. Its party workers would not have deserted it," she claimed. "Till now Rahul Gandhi had been a missing MP, but now he has become a missing candidate as well," Irani said.

This is the second time Irani is taking on Gandhi in the Congress bastion, after a unsuccessful bid in 2014. She has continuously raised the issue of Congress allegedly overlooking the constituents in Amethi.

For this election, the BJP has sent its top leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, to campaign in Amethi, which has remained with the Congress except in 1977 and 1998.

Also, Rahul Gandhi is contesting from a second seat in Kerala in this election. The Congress has pitched the choice of Wayanad as an attempt by it to bridge the "north-south divide".

As Gandhi crisscrosses the country for campaigning, Priyanka Gandhi has held the ground in Amethi, raising mostly local issues faced by the people. She has also targeted the top BJP leadership on the issue of nationalism, which the ruling party has made a strong campaign issue.