Flanked by mother Sonia and sister Priyanka, Rahul files nomination from Congress bastion Amethi

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination for upcoming Lok Sabha Elections from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi on Wednesday. Flanked by mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Gandhi filed the nomination after a mega road show in the Congress bastion. Noticeably, Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra was also present at the district collectorate. It was a complete show of strength not just politicly but family-wise too. The message was loud and clear - the Gandhis stand united, which includes Vadra also. Before the nomination, Gandhi along with his sister, brother-in-law and their children took part in the mega road show in Congress pocket borough.

 

People of Amethi come out in huge numbers in full support of Congress President @RahulGandhi’s nomination today. #AmethiKaRahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/Xbd1GvapmS

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 10, 2019

Later addressing media on the Supreme Court’s order on Rafale deal, Gandhi said, “Supreme Court has accepted that there is some form of corruption in Rafale deal and that ‘chowkidaar ne chori karwayi hai’.”

Earlier on April 4, the Congress president had filed his nomination from Kerala's Wayanad constituency in presence of his sister. Rahul Gandhi, who has been representing Uttar Pradesh's Amethi since 2004, is fighting the upcoming general elections from two seats. Gandhi said that he decided to contest from the south Indian state as people of the country's southern states feel "hostility from (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi" and he wanted to send a message that he and his party was standing with them.  

Gandhi, who has been representing the constituency for the past 15 years, will this time again face BJP's Smriti Irani who is likely to file her nomination papers a day later on Thursday. In the 2014 general elections, Irani was defeated by Rahul Gandhi by over one lakh votes. Amethi goes to polls in the fifth phase on May 6.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with its ally Apna Dal swept the state and won 73 seats together. The BJP completely routed the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Congress and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state. Both the BSP and the Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) were not able to open their accounts in the Lok Sabha polls. Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha and such a massive victory facilitated the BJP's grand comeback at the Centre.