Amethi: BJP heavyweights Amit Shah and Smriti Irani are in Uttar Pradesh's
Amethi for a mega rally with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Amit Shah's visit to Amethi, considered a Congress bastion, comes just three days after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi visited the parliamentary constituency. A number of schemes and projects are likely to be announced and their foundation stones laid during Amit Shah's visit. The mega function is being attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Smriti Irani will attend the launch of an FM station at Gauriganj and an initiative to save the Gomti river near Pipri village. Ms Irani will also attend the inauguration of a tuberculosis unit at the district hospital and a primary health centre at Odari Tiloi, and attend other public welfare programs launched by the state and central governments. Amethi, which has traditionally been a Congress bastion, had in 2014 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a high-pitched electoral battle between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani. Though Ms Irani lost the election, she managed to reduce his victory margin from around 3.70 lakh in 2009 to 1.07 lakh in 2014. In the 2017 UP Assembly election, the BJP won six of the 10 Assembly seats falling under the parliamentary constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli. Four of which were in Amethi. Through his mega rally, Amit Shah aims to send a clear message that the current regime believed in all-round development of the state.
Here are the live updates from Amit Shah's mega rally in Amethi:
Oct 10, 2017 13:23 (IST)
Amethi was one of only two parliament seats of UP's 80 that the Congress could win in 2014; the other was neighbouring Rae Bareli, also a Gandhi family stronghold, from where Congress chief and Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi contested and won.
Oct 10, 2017 13:22 (IST)
BJP chief Amit Shah will inaugurate a number of schemes during his Amethi visit.