Amid the speculation that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi might be contesting from two seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Smriti Irani remarked that it showed that he had announced his defeat from Amethi even before the elections. Challenging Rahul to contest from Amethi alone, she stated that if the Congress leader has courage he should contest without Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav. Responding to her comments, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh stated that no matter what Smriti Irani says the party follows a procedure and the CEC will decide from where Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest Lok Sabha elections.
He stated that there will be a meeting only after which the list of candidates will come out. Jairam also stated that the party will likely announce the candidates from the states that were discussed during the meeting on March 6 either today or tomorrow.
Over the speculations of Rahul Gandhi contesting Lok Sabha elections from two states, Union Minister Smriti Irani stated: "Why are people who say that Amethi is the Gandhi family's bastion taking a lot of time to announce a candidate?"
Calling it the party's lack of confidence, she claimed that "Amethi is no longer the Congress bastion."
"If he is contesting on two seats, it means that he is announcing his loss from Amethi even before the elections," the Union Minister stated.
Congress's Central Election Committee met on March 6 to finalise its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, the list has not been released yet thus continuing the suspense over the seats from which Rahul and Priyanka would contest.
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