Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Stage set for Rahul Gandhi-Smriti Irani faceoff in Amethi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister Smriti Irani are all set to take the political hotbed of Amethi by storm with both the leaders descending in Amethi on Friday. The duo had contested the last Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, a contest won by the Congress chief, and are likely to lock horns once again in the upcoming general election. While Gandhi will be in Amethi on January 4 and 5, Irani, a vocal critic of the Gandhi scion, will also begin her daylong visit to the Gandhi bastion on Friday.

The Congress chief will meet the people of his constituency, attend public and party reception, hold 'corner meetings' in Salon and visit Pareshdepur, Naseerabad, Paraiya Namaksar and Gauriganj areas on Friday. He will also take part in the oath-taking ceremony of the Gauriganj Zila Adhivakta Sangh and inaugurate the Adhivakta Bhawan, built from the MPLAD funds.

On Saturday, he will travel to Musafirkhana tehsil, Jagdishpur and Tiloyi, where he will meet the family members of late Shiv Pratap Singh, veteran Congress leader who died last week after a prolonged illness, before reaching Lucknow for his onward journey to Delhi. Irani, on the other hand, will attend a programme organised by Raghav Sewa Sansthan during which blankets and financial assistance will be extended to needy people and a foundation stone for a school will also be laid.

Though the Union textiles minister was trounced by the Gandhi scion in 2014 election, she maintained her contact with the constituency, nurturing it and visiting it frequently. Irani continued to cultivate Amethi during these years, dropping enough hints that she will once again contest against Rahul Gandhi in the polls.

Interestingly, this will be the first visit by the Congress president to his constituency after his party tasted victory in the recent Assembly elections which, many believe, has rejuvenated the party cadre as well as its leaders.