Taking a swipe at the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi, Amethi's sitting MP and BJP leader Smriti Irani said "We will not leave a stone unturned in welcoming the guests (referring to Rahul Gandhi)." Her remarks came as a response after the grand old party finally revealed who will be contesting from Amethi and Raebareli on Friday, the last day to file nominations for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections. Both the constituencies are scheduled to go to polls on May 20.
"No member of the Gandhi family contesting from Amethi in itself is an indication that Congress has accepted its defeat from Amethi even before elections," Amethi MP & Union Minister Smriti Irani remarked.
"I would say, if they have seen even the slightest chance of winning, they wouldn't have fielded their proxy here," she said.
"If development was possible in Amethi in the last five years under BJP MP, then why did Congress do such harm to Amethi over the last many decades? Today is the victory of the people of Amethi," she said.
"In the last three years, Congress' top leadership was not present there for the public. Jinhe Amethi ne aswikaar kar diya, Amethi chhor ke Wayanad chalegaye, woh Raebareli ke purnatah kabhi nahi ho paayenge," Irani told reporters.
Notably, it is for the first time in 25 years that a Gandhi family member will not be contesting an election from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat. Ever since its creation as a constituency in 1967, Amethi has been considered a citadel of the Gandhi family in the political sphere. The seat has been represented by the Gandhi family members for about 31 years. The Congress was defeated in its stronghold in the last general election (2019) when BJP's Smriti Irani beat Rahul Gandhi by more than 55,000 votes.
This time Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, whereas Rahul Gandhi, who has contested already from Kerala's Wayanad, will be contesting the Rae Bareli seat.
It is to be noted that Sharma was the key person who looked after the two prestigious constituencies on behalf of the Gandhi family in their absence.
The last time a non-Gandhi was fielded from the constituency was in 1998, when Satish Sharma, a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, contested the polls but lost to the BJP's Sanjaya Sinh. In 1999, Sonia Gandhi reclaimed the seat by over 3 lakh votes against Sinh.
Sonia, in 2004, shifted to the adjacent Raebareli to make way for her son Rahul Gandhi. Rahul has represented three consecutive terms in 2004, 2009, and 2014. He lost to Smriti Irani while contesting for the seat in 2019.