Congress workers held a sit-in in Amethi on Tuesday, demanding that the party field three-time MP Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, who lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.With only a few hours left for filing nominations for Amethi and Rae Bareli seats that will go to the polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20, the Congress is yet to announce its candidates. While party sources said that Rahul Gandhi is expected to return to Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might fight from Rae Bareli, reports now suggest that it is unlikely to happen.
The Congress has maintained unsettling silence on the subject. The BJP, which is repeating Union minister Smriti Irani in Amethi, is yet to announce its candidate for Rae Bareli. The party is closely watching the Congress move and may decide its candidate after knowing about the Congress pick in Rae Bareli.
Congress workers held a sit-in in Amethi on Tuesday, demanding that the party name a member of the Gandhi family as its candidate for the seat. Raising slogans like ‘Amethi Mange Gandhi Parivaar’, they sat on dharna on the premises of the Amethi district office. They urged the party leadership to field three-time MP Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, who lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
Home Minister Amit Shah took a swipe at the Gandhi siblings amid suspense over their candidature from Amethi and Rae Bareli. “I don’t know whether they will contest elections or not but the amount of confusion shows that they lack self-confidence. The situation in Uttar Pradesh is that they have left their traditional seats and ran away,” Shah said.
Meanwhile, actor and TV host Simi Garewal has an advice for the Congress. She feels that fielding Rahul Gandhi from Amethi will serve no purpose as there are “bigger battles to be fought.”
“IMHO I don’t think @RahulGandhi should contest from Amethi. Not that he can’t win. In a fair contest he can! But the entire BJP artillery will be aimed only at him. Why become cannon fodder? There are other bigger battles to be fought,” Garewal wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
In 2011, when she was doing “Simi Selects India’s Most Desirable”, she had thought of approaching Rahul Gandhi for an interview but dropped the idea because the format had a fun element.
“Rahul is a very serious person with a mission in life. I would definitely like to interview him, but not in this format,” Garewal had said.
Simi Garewal, who shares a special connection with the Gandhi family, says that she travelled with Rajiv Gandhi all over India and abroad for her documentary on the former Prime Minister. Apart from several interviews, she also filmed him piloting his plane, playing with his dogs and driving his car.
On May 20, 2020, the 29th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated on May 21, 1991, Garewal wrote an emotional blog on her journey from her first meeting with him and to how she was shocked to hear the news about his assassination.