Amid Congress' Amethi indecision, Robert Vadra says 'Entire country wants me to join politics'
New Delhi/IBNS: Amid Congress' indecision over its candidate from Gandhi family bastion Amethi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband, businessman Robert Vadra, has expressed his eagerness to fight from the seat in Uttar Pradesh for the second time.
Speaking to the media, Robert Vadra said, "The entire country wants me to join active politics. I have always been among people of the country. I have campaigned in Amethi since 1999. I helped Sonia-ji to win in 2004 by a huge margin of votes."
"People of Amethi want me. Smriti Irani-ji didn't fulfill her promises," he added.
#WATCH | Rishikesh, Uttarakhand: On being asked whether he will contest Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Robert Vadra says, "The voice is coming from the entire country that I should get into active politics as I have always been amongst the people of the country... People… pic.twitter.com/fbyVQjbahS
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
Days ago, posters in favour of Robert Vadra, who is the son-in-law of Congress top leader Sonia Gandhi's, were seen in the constituency, which was once held by party MP Rahul Gandhi.
"Amethi ki janta kare pukar, Robert Vadra ab ki baar," read some posters, which loosely means Amethi wants Rober Vadra here.
Robert, the husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, visited the holy city of Vrindavan and prayed to Lord Banke Bihari earlier this month.
Congress top leader and Sonia's son Rahul Gandhi is still unsure of contesting from the family bastion Amethi, which he lost to Union Minister Smriti Irani in 2019.
After he was defeated by Irani, Rahul was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala's Wayanad constituency, the second seat from where he had contested the same year.
VIDEO | Uttar Pradesh: Posters demanding Robert Vadra to be fielded as party candidate from #Amethi Lok Sabha seat put up near district #Congress office.#LSPolls2024WithPTI #LokSabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/DtmdgdRPpt
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 24, 2024
Irani was, however, defeated by Rahul Gandhi in 2014, the year which saw Narendra Modi storming into power.
Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2017.
In the last consecutive general elections, the BJP had swept the polls in Uttar Pradesh, the north Indian state.
Amethi goes to polls on May 20 and the last date for filing nomination is May 3.