Residents of Amethi Lok Sabha constituency are restlessly waiting for May 3 -- the last date of filing nominations for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election with polling scheduled on May 20. Their eagerness is about whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will file his papers from here or not -- especially since Rahul filed his nomination from Wayanad in faraway Kerala on April 3, where polling is scheduled on April 26.
The significance of the fact that Rahul has not let go of the Wayanad option is not lost on the people of Amethi. After all, in 2019 they had handed a smarting defeat to him, choosing the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Smriti Irani instead as their representative. Still, some people believed that this time he will contest only from Amethi and win the seat to uphold the traditional stronghold of his party. But apparently Rahul’s trust in Wayanad remains strong.
Amethi: 20 lakh people, of whom 11 lakh voted in 2019
The constituency, which covers the entire Amethi district, has a population of about 20 lakh people, of whom about 55 per cent had voted in the last Lok Sabha election, and Rahul had lost by a margin of about 55,000 votes.
Smriti Irani had emerged as a giant-killer after having lost the previous (2014) election to Rahul by more than 1 lakh votes.
This time, however, the campaign is distinctly one-sided at the moment with no inkling of the Congress taking a decisive step.
Despite the repetitive kite-flying in local media and among party workers that Rahul will contest from here –- and Priyanka Vadra from neighbouring Rae Bareli –- there has been no official Congress announcement yet. Even when Rahul completed the formalities in Wayanad and led a roadshow, there was no answer (since no question was raised) about whether he will file papers from Amethi too.
Why Congress believes they are in with a chance
According to local Congress party supporters, a team from Delhi has been engaged in collecting feedback from all sections of people in Amethi about the political environment, the extent of discontent against Smriti Irani and the state government, and the possibility of a positive result in case Rahul decides to contest from here too.
Of course, this is in addition to the surveys entrusted to professional agencies engaged in similar and parallel work. If these sources are to be believed, the feedback has indicated that the Congress could make it this time, as the Samajwadi Party is not contesting from here as part of a seat-sharing formula, and the SP leadership has promised full and dedicated support to the Congress during campaigning.
There has also been discontent among a section of people over apathy of government employees in addressing people’s problems such as delay in salary payment, land encroachment etc -- over which Smriti Irani too had reprimanded officials during her recent visits. This too is cited as a factor which might help the Congress candidate in the election.
But the moot question is: will Rahul Gandhi be the Congress candidate from here? Till some time ago, there were speculations that Rahul’s cousin Varun Gandhi, having been denied the BJP ticket from Pilibhit, might be chosen by the Congress to contest from here, but there has been no word in this regard.
Local BJP leaders are emphatic in saying that Rahul will not contest from here as he knows he has no chance of winning, and they have also swatted aside the possible challenge from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which has announced its intention to join the fray.
The house that Smriti Irani built
Smriti Irani has maintained a regular touch with the people here during her frequent visits. She recently shifted to a sprawling house near Gauriganj with a house-warming puja and a get-together for local people. For her, it is the fulfilment of a promise to her constituents that she will make a permanent residence in Amethi.
Her representatives and party office bearers keep actively in touch with people and reports of any problems or disgruntlement are promptly conveyed to her. In fact, under Smriti Irani’s representation, the people of Amethi do not really miss the so-called “VIP” treatment they had become accustomed to receive for decades when the Gandhis represented the constituency.
Fascination with the Congress a thing of the past
There are few remnants in Amethi of the Gandhi domination, and the new construction of government buildings, roads and other facilities has changed the district's landscape.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had in in October last laid the foundation stones for 879 development projects worth Rs 700 crore in Amethi. These included the construction of a medical college, extension of existing offices and sports facilities.
Once a Congress stronghold with the likes of Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi having represented the seat, Amethi appears to have shed its fascination with the Congress.
Most of the adjacent Assembly seats are with the BJP, while the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat continues to be with the Congress. But since Sonia Gandhi has moved to the Rajya Sabha, there is speculation that Priyanka Vadra might be fielded from there.
Polling will be held here in the fifth phase on May 20, involving 14 constituencies including Lucknow. The people are expecting the suspense to continue for some time and the speculations will end only when the nominations are filed.
Post Script
WhatsApps of people in UP began buzzing with interesting news on Thursday night. A maverick with ties with to the Congress first family had a take to share.
"People of Amethi expect me to represent their constituency," said Robert Vadra in the middle of all the 'Will he, will she' brother-sister talk. In Amethi, there is never a shortage of spice in poll season.