Congress president Rahul Gandhi today filed his nomination for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, a Gandhi bastion in Uttar Pradesh he has represented for the last 14 years. Rahul Gandhi undertook a 3-km road show from Munshiganj-Darpipur to Gauriganj, the administrative headquarters of Amethi, before filing the nomination.
He was accompanied by his sister and the party’s east UP in charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and his mother and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha lawmaker Sonia Gandhi. For the second consecutive time, Rahul Gandhi will face the BJP’s Smriti Irani, who is likely to file her nomination papers a day later on Thursday. Last Thursday, Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Wayanad in Kerala and said he was contesting from a seat in south India as well to send a message of unity.
The Congress president’s decision to contest from a second seat has bolstered the BJP’s charge that Rahul Gandhi is “running away” because he is unsure of his prospects in Amethi. Amethi goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6.
