New Delhi: Robert Vadra - Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband - has declared his backing for the party's Lok Sabha election candidate from the Gandhi family stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
After much suspnse the party said last week its senior leader from the state - KL Sharma - will contest a seat that had been dominated by the Gandhi clan till it was wrested from them in 2019, when Smriti Irani handed Rahul Gandhi a shock defeat.
Earlier there had been much speculation that Mr Vadra, who has never previously contested an election, could be chosen to fight a seat that has, in the past, been held by Mr Gandhi, his mother and ex-party boss Sonia Gandhi, and her husband, ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
READ | "If Amethi Wants Me...": Robert Vadra Hints At Lok Sabha Polls
Mr Vadra, seen by a small section as an outside bet on a seat nobody from the Gandhi family seemed to want, had declared he would contest the election "... if the people of Amethi expect me to represent them... if I decide to become a Member of Parliament".
Now, though, with Mr Sharma declared as the candidate, Mr Vadra seemed to backtrack.
"Yes, I found a lot of people in Amethi and Raebareli who were happy, excited, and hopeful that I might take part... stand (in the election) ... and represent them, but the good news is Rahul Gandhi is amongst them... and I am very happy for Kishori Lal Sharma," he said.
READ | "Robert Vadra Ab Ki Baar" Posters In Amethi Amid Gandhi Suspense
Mr Vadra continued: "... (KL Sharma) has worked in Amethi forever. He knows every area... every person. He can definitely bring the progress that Smriti Irani was not able to do."
The Congress' choice of KL Sharma has been heavily criticised by the BJP.
There had previously been speculation of a blockbuster double-billing for the UP election, which would see Rahul Gandhi return to contest Amethi and Mrs Gandhi Vadra make her electoral debut from Raebareli, the seat held for decades by her mother, Sonia Gandhi.
Eventually though Mrs Gandhi Vadra opted against contesting the poll and Mr Gandhi chose to defend the Raebareli seat, saying he had been instructed to do so by his mother.
READ | BJP Leader Calls Him "Gandhis' Chaprasi", Congress' Amethi Pick Replies
In response, Smriti Irani took a fierce jab at the Gandhi family and the Congress, saying that absence from Amethi meant the BJP's rivals had accepted defeat even before polling.
"Gandhi family not being present in the election fray in Amethi indicates that Congress party has accepted its defeat in Amethi even before the polling on the seat," Ms Irani, the sitting MP from Amethi, told reporters.
"Had they felt there was any chance of victory on the seat, they would have contested from here and not fielded their proxy," the BJP leader said, referring to KL Sharma.
Ms Irani took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who filed his nomination from Raebareli today, saying, "the one who was not accepted by Amethi and fled to Wayanad will never fully belong to Rae Bareli."
With input from PTI
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