New Delhi: Even as the Congress maintains a studious silence on who will represent the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra has thrown his hat in the ring, saying he would not mind if the people wanted him as a parliamentarian.
Four members of the family have represented the seat since 1980 — though not in continuity — Sanjay, Rajiv, Sonia, and Rahul. Rahul’s run was ended in 2019 by BJP’s Smriti Irani.
While the ruling party has fielded Irani once again for 2024, the Congress is yet to show its hand in Amethi as well as in the other stronghold Rae Bareli. Sitting MP Sonia Gandhi has opted for the Rajya Sabha. The BJP, too, is yet to name its candidate from this VIP seat.
In an interview to news agency ANI, Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Vadra waxed eloquent on how hard the family has worked for the people in Amethi, and for their development and progress.
He said the electorate has realised the “mistake” it made in 2019 by voting in Smriti Irani, who had defeated Rahul Gandhi by over 55,000 votes. “She doesn’t visit the constituency, but is only interested in defaming and badmouthing the family,” Vadra said.
The businessman said he wanted to look after the people of Rae Bareli and Amethi. “They (voters in Amethi) want a member of the Gandhi family to come back, and win by a big margin. They want a member of the Gandhi family to come back here. They also expect me to represent Amethi if I think of stepping into the political arena or if I want to become a parliamentarian,” he said.
Referred to as the “damadji” by the BJP, Vadra is being investigated by the Enforcement (ED), which filed a supplementary prosecution complaint last December against the businessman.
The probe agency has accused Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law of renovating and staying at a London property in connection with a money-laundering case tied to alleged middleman and absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
To the interviewer Thursday, Vadra also spoke about the work he had done in Amethi since 1999, the year Sonia Gandhi became MP.
He said that he began campaigning in the constituency with Priyanka, working “day and night”, spreading love and goodwill during “sensitive times”.
“We pasted posters, encouraged workers to cling to their booths in the face of the enemy. My bond with the people is still alive. They keep in touch via social media, they cut cake or organise langar on my birthdays.”
Vadra added that it gave him pleasure to be with people and help charities and those in distress. “Whoever represents Amethi, we want them to speak about development, security and non-discriminatory politics.”
Delhi | On UP's Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, Robert Vadra says, "…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… pic.twitter.com/2kdmgQtrvv
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2024
The Congress is contesting only 17 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the seat-sharing deal with ally Samajwadi Party. Apart from Amethi and Rae Bareli, the other seats are Varanasi, Prayagraj, Fatehpur Sikri, Saharanpur, Maharajganj, Bansgaon, Kanpur Nagar, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki and Deoria.
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