Rahul Gandhi might be contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Raebareli.
New Delhi:
As the Congress at the moment introduced Rahul Gandhi’s change from Amethi – the place he misplaced the 2019 election – to the Raebareli seat vacated by his mom Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the Congress chief utilizing his personal phrases.
PM Modi, addressing a rally in Bengal, mentioned Rahul Gandhi had “run away” from Amethi for concern of defeat.
“Today I also want to tell him, Daro Mat (don’t be afraid), Bhaago Mat (don’t run),” the Prime Minister sneered.
Rahul Gandhi has typically mentioned, “Daro Mat” whereas accusing the BJP authorities of utilizing probe companies to terrorise critics and political rivals.
PM Modi did not spare Sonia Gandhi both, saying he had predicted that each mom and son would keep away from contesting from their seats out of concern.
“I had said, their biggest leader will not dare to contest. She will run away out of fear. She ran to Rajasthan and from there entered Rajya Sabha. That is exactly what happened,” he mentioned.
“I had said that shehzade (Rahul Gandhi) is afraid of losing in Wayanad, and the moment voting ends, he will start looking for a third seat. Now even from Amethi, despite all his loyalists saying it, he panicked so much, he ran from there and is now looking towards Raebareli. These people keep going around telling people Daro Mat. Today I will also tell them… ji bhar ke kehta hoon. Arey daro mat, bhaago mat.”
Several BJP leaders seized on the Amethi-Raebareli determination, calling it a useless giveaway that Rahul Gandhi is aware of he cannot win Amethi, the place Smriti Irani is contesting once more after her shock win within the final Lok Sabha election.
“A while ago, Rahul Gandhi used to say ‘daro mat, daro mat, daro mat’. Now his fear has taken him from Amethi to Wayanad and from Wayanad to Raebareli – the decision shows where all his fear of defeat is driving him. And the fear is also about whether he could lose both,” mentioned Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who’s the BJP’s candidate from Hamirpur.
“He failed to do right by his sister (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra), as on one hand Robert Vadra was asking for a ticket (to contest from Amethi), and on the other hand, Congress workers wanted Priyanka Gandhi. Yet her name was not on the party’s list – that shows something is going on within the Congress party and they should tell the country what it is…”
Another BJP chief, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, mentioned the individuals of Raebareli would by no means settle for Rahul Gandhi. “BJP is going to win in Raebareli and Amethi by a huge margin. The people of Raebareli will never accept Rahul Gandhi,” he mentioned.
Raebareli was held by Sonia Gandhi, who grew to become a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan final month. As Rahul Gandhi strikes to Raebareli, traditionally one in every of Congress’s most secure seats, his rival is the BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh, who misplaced to Sonia Gandhi by over 1.67 lakh votes within the 2019 polls.
In 2019, Smriti Irani scored a shocking victory from Amethi, a constituency that had at all times been loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi household. For Rahul Gandhi, the saving grace was his victory within the second seat he contested – Wayanad in Kerala.
The Congress has named Kishori Lal Sharma for Amethi. He dismissed the BJP’s allegation that the Gandhis opted out of Amethi as a result of they had been “scared”. “Rahul Gandhi is not someone who runs away from the ground. He is fighting for the whole country,” he mentioned.
Both seats will vote within the fifth section of the Lok Sabha polls on May 20.
The Congress, which is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as a part of its seat-sharing pact with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, stored its Amethi and Raebareli announcement for the final minute as high leaders mentioned the opportunity of Rahul Gandhi preventing from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi from Raebareli.
“The party requested Rahul to contest from Raebareli and he agreed. For us, Raebareli, Amethi, and Wayanad seats are all dear. Raebareli is the seat which was held by Indira Gandhi and till recently it was held by Sonia Gandhi. At the appropriate time, the party will decide which seat he will retain. The decision when taken will not affect anyone,” mentioned Congress chief KC Venugopal.
Wayanad voted on April 26 within the second section of Lok Sabha polls.