Rahul will contest from Amethi, says Congress Uttar Pradesh chief

Lucknow: Rahul Gandhi will contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Amethi, newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said on Friday. "Rahul Gandhi will definitely contest the Lok Sabha election from Amethi, the people of Amethi are here," Rai, who was made the president of the state unit of the party in the latest reshuffle, told reporters in Varanasi. Amethi was a long held bastion of the Gandhi family till Rahul Gandhi, who had been an MP from the seat since 2004, was ousted in 2019 general election by BJP's Smriti Irani. Rahul Gandhi is at present MP from Wayanad in Kerala.

Surrounded by party workers and leaders, who gathered at the airport as he arrived from Delhi, Rai said that if party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi desires, she can contest from Varanasi or any other place. "If Priyanka Gandhi has the desire to fight from Varanasi, every single worker will work wholeheartedly for her," he said. Rai, an upper caste Bhumihar who had unsuccessfully contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, was made the UP Congress chief, replacing Dalit leader Brijlal Khabri. Asked if his appointment was a reward for contesting against Narendra Modi twice, he said, "this is the result of my continued struggle, someone who went to jail, who has been continuously exposing the wrong, Ajay Rai is the 'sipahi' of Rahul Gandhi. This struggle will be fought all over the state."

When asked about Union minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the last election, Rai said she appears frustrated. "Smriti Irani seems frustrated. She said she will get sugar at Rs 13 per kg, did she manage it? People from Amethi are here, ask them," Rai said.