Smriti Irani holds door-to-door campaign at Amethi
May 13, 2024
Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 13 : Union Minister Smriti Irani held a door-to-door campaign in her constituency, Amethi on Monday.
Irani met shopkeepers and people while campaigning at Amethi Bazar and appealed to them to exercise their franchise. The Union Minister was also offered lassi from the Ashrafi Lal Lassi Corner, which she visited in 2021.
Amethi will go to polls in the fifth phase on May 20. Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi by 55,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections ending the Gandhi family's stint on the seat.
Amethi and Rae Bareli -- two constituencies considered old turfs of the Gandhi family has again become the point of focus as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has entered the fray in Rae Bareli and the family's close aide Kishori Lal Sharma has been fielded against Smriti Irani in Amethi.
After Rahul Gandhi was named by the Congress as its candidate from Raebareli Lok Sabha seat, Union Minister and BJP's candidate from Amethi, Smriti Irani on Friday said that Congress has conceded defeat from the constituency even before a vote was cast, adding that the opposition party would not have fielded a "proxy candidate" (Kishori Lal Sharma) if they were hopeful about the outcome of the polls.
"I welcome the guests to Amethi. The fact that the Gandhis are not fighting in Amethi shows that even before a vote has been cast, they are losing from Amethi. If they had seen even a glimmer of hope, they would have contested and not put up a proxy candidate," Smriti Irani told reporters in Amethi.
Congress had won just 2 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 (Rae Bareli and Amethi). The tally came down to just one in 2019 after the party lost Amethi.