Reported By: Pallavi Ghosh
Last Updated: February 20, 2024, 17:05 IST
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, in Amethi, on Monday. (PTI)
Sources say it was tough to even muster workers to organise the Amethi leg of Rahul Gandhi’s yatra. While the Congress may be sure that a Gandhi will win from here, they may still not be willing to take that chance
The empty chairs at the toll plaza rally of Rahul Gandhi, the last venue of his Amethi leg, has given the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a chance to make the point that the constituency is not yet ready for the Congress leader’s comeback in 2024.
The comment by communication head and Gandhi’s close aide Jairam Ramesh has now triggered speculation whether the former MP from here would take the plunge again in 2024. “The decision will be taken by the CEC and state president. But I heard everywhere people want Rahul Gandhi back. The atmosphere is to bring him back. People have understood that they made a mistake.”
INDIA युवाओं को रोज़गार देना चाहता है – वो बेरोज़गारी की बीमारीINDIA किसानों को MSP से मज़बूत बनाना चाहता है – वो मजबूर
INDIA जातिगत गिनती करना चाहता है – वो सिर्फ राजनीति
आ रही है INDIA की सरकार,बदलेगा भारत, बढ़ेगा बिहार। https://t.co/zbap79NQdP
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 16, 2024
Not that the BJP or Smriti Irani, who is the MP from here, would agree. There have been many development projects in the constituency, which had dried up in the last five years of Gandhi’s tenure. A Coca Cola factory and another manufacturing A-203 guns have been inaugurated by the CM Yogi Adityanath and Irani. The fact that it would throw up job opportunities gives the BJP confidence that it will be ‘Abki Baar Smriti’.
Speaking exclusively to News18, Irani said, “You have seen the development work done her. If Rahul Gandhi was confident of winning from Amethi, why would he get people from Pratapgarh and other areas for his yatra in Amethi?”
The reality is that local workers of the Congress have either quit or have taken a back seat. The BJP, when it set up shop here first, ensured that it began from the basics. It has a huge office in Gauriganj in Amethi and has been ensuring that people walk in. In keeping with her promise in 2019, Irani has now built a home here to make the point that she would not go away anywhere. The house is not too far from the party office.
ALSO READ | The Amethi-sts Return? Will It Be Congress’s Rahul Gandhi vs BJP’s Smriti Irani Again in 2024?
Sources say it was tough to even muster workers to organise the Amethi leg of the yatra. While in Rae Bareili, the picture seemed better for the Congress, in terms of organization. In Amethi, it is clear that the organisation needs a spirit and workers.
While the Congress may be sure that a Gandhi will win from here, they may still not be willing to take that chance.
