Smriti Irani sounds battle bugle in Amethi: 'Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is my opponent'
Lok Sabha elections 2024: This time around, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is managing the Congress' campaign in both Rae Bareli and Amethi from behind the curtains.
- May 16, 2024,
- Updated May 16, 2024 10:36 AM IST
Smriti Irani, Union minister and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, said in a recent interview that her real challenger in the constituency is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She added that Vadra is "fighting from the backstage" and that at least her brother Rahul Gandhi fought from the front.
This time around, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is managing the Congress' campaign in both Rae Bareli and Amethi from behind the curtains, as per media reports. In Amethi, Smriti Irani is up against the Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma.
"I don't want to indulge in juvenile politics. My opponent is Priyanka Vadra, she is fighting from the backstage. At least the brother was in front; in 2014 too, Rahul only won with 1.07 lakh votes and that, too, with the help of Mulayam Singh Yadav," Irani told News18 in an interview.
Smriti Irani attacks Rahul Gandhi
Moving ahead, Irani also attacked Vadra's brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Calling the Gandhi scion an "absentee MP", she said the people will reply with their vote if they are taken for a ride. She said that the people of Amethi wanted someone for them and she is satisfied to have been there.
She also attacked Rahul Gandhi over his half-Italian descent. "People sometimes get fascinated by white skin, a charisma is built around it. Those who thought I don't have the status, they can now compare me with those who were born in the Gandhi family," Irani said.
Smriti Irani on her humble origins, contesting from Amethi
Irani further said in the interview that unlike the Gandhi brother-sister duo, she is not born into a political lineage and comes from a humble background. Besides this, Irani also claimed that the Congress indulged in booth capturing and poll violence in Amethi in the past, adding that the Gandhi family ensured the media at the time did not report such events.
She even claimed that her fellow BJP MP and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi was assaulted by "Congress goons," when the latter fought against her late brother-in-law and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1989. She also claimed that the Gandhi family's terror was not only for the voters and politicians but also for journalists. She claimed that in 2014, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's assistant was at a voting booth even when it was prohibited for outsiders to be present there.
Amethi Lok Sabha election results 2019
In 2019, the Gandhi family's winning streak from Amethi came to a grinding halt when BJP's Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi from the erstwhile Congress stronghold. Irani defeated the Gandhi scion by a margin of more than 55,000 votes, earning her the moniker "giant killer."
Smriti Irani, Union minister and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, said in a recent interview that her real challenger in the constituency is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She added that Vadra is "fighting from the backstage" and that at least her brother Rahul Gandhi fought from the front.
This time around, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is managing the Congress' campaign in both Rae Bareli and Amethi from behind the curtains, as per media reports. In Amethi, Smriti Irani is up against the Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma.
"I don't want to indulge in juvenile politics. My opponent is Priyanka Vadra, she is fighting from the backstage. At least the brother was in front; in 2014 too, Rahul only won with 1.07 lakh votes and that, too, with the help of Mulayam Singh Yadav," Irani told News18 in an interview.
Smriti Irani attacks Rahul Gandhi
Moving ahead, Irani also attacked Vadra's brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Calling the Gandhi scion an "absentee MP", she said the people will reply with their vote if they are taken for a ride. She said that the people of Amethi wanted someone for them and she is satisfied to have been there.
She also attacked Rahul Gandhi over his half-Italian descent. "People sometimes get fascinated by white skin, a charisma is built around it. Those who thought I don't have the status, they can now compare me with those who were born in the Gandhi family," Irani said.
Smriti Irani on her humble origins, contesting from Amethi
Irani further said in the interview that unlike the Gandhi brother-sister duo, she is not born into a political lineage and comes from a humble background. Besides this, Irani also claimed that the Congress indulged in booth capturing and poll violence in Amethi in the past, adding that the Gandhi family ensured the media at the time did not report such events.
She even claimed that her fellow BJP MP and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi was assaulted by "Congress goons," when the latter fought against her late brother-in-law and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1989. She also claimed that the Gandhi family's terror was not only for the voters and politicians but also for journalists. She claimed that in 2014, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's assistant was at a voting booth even when it was prohibited for outsiders to be present there.
Amethi Lok Sabha election results 2019
In 2019, the Gandhi family's winning streak from Amethi came to a grinding halt when BJP's Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi from the erstwhile Congress stronghold. Irani defeated the Gandhi scion by a margin of more than 55,000 votes, earning her the moniker "giant killer."