AMETHI: While the ongoing suspense over the Congress's candidate for Amethi, posters seeking the candidature of Robert Vadra, husband of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have cropped up outside the local offices of Congress in Amethi and Gauriganj, here on Wednesday.
The posters reading: "Amethi ki janta kare pukar, Robert Vadra ab ki baar", (the people of Amethi want Robert Vadra this time) can be seen at the local offices of the Congress party in Amethi.
Notably, the posters appeared just two days before the commencement of the nominations for the fifth phase under which Amethi will vote on May 20. The nomination process for the constituency will start on April 26.
As per the Congress insiders, the party would officially announce the name of the candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli after the second phase voting on April 26 when Wayanad, where former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is in fray, would vote.
The last day for filing nomination for fifth phase is May 3. While the BJP has announced sitting MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani as its candidate, the Congress is yet to name its pick.
Interestingly, Robrt Vadra is showing interest in contesting from Amethi this time, claiming that voters feel that if he contests from Amethi, they will have the option of correcting their mistake of electing Smriti Irani in 2019.
However, Congress brushed off the speculation over Vadra’s candidature saying that the decision on the party's candidate would be made public soon.
Reacting to the posters cropping up in Amethi seeking Robert Vadra candidature, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput said that such posters were an issue for the BJP.
“Robert Vadra is not in politics but every person has his supporters. The decision on who will be fielded by the Congress from Amethi will be taken soon," said Rajput. He added that such decisions were not taken through posters, CEC will finalise the candidates and an announcement in that regard would soon be made.
Earlier, BJP candidate and sitting MP from Amethi Smriti Irani, while speaking at a public meeting, indicated that Robert Vadra was pushing for a Congress ticket from Amethi.
Irani, who has been campaigning aggressively on the ground, is likely to file her nomination in the presence of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, both deputy CMs Keshav Maurya and Brajesh Pathak and other BJP leaders on April 29.
Amethi has been a family seat for the Gandhis, represented in the past by Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who had made his electoral debut from Amethi in 2004. In the 2019 election, Smriti Irani wrested it from Rahul Gandhi, who managed to score a win in Kerala's Wayanad.
This year too, Rahul is contesting from Wayanad. As per the highly placed Congress sources, with nominations for Amethi open till May 3, he may file his papers after the polling in the Kerala seat. Recently, Rahul had said that he would abide by party’s decision over his candidature from Amethi.
