On Rahul Gandhi from Amethi speculation, Smriti Irani says, ‘Strange that…’

Amethi sitting MP Smriti Irani on Wednesday said she was not aware whom the Congress will field from the seat in the 2024 election but the delay itself is a sign of defeat for the party. Smriti Irani’s statement came amid intense speculations that the Congress would repeat Rahul Gandhi for the seat once again – after 2019’s defeat. “This is strange because, for the first time, the party is taking so much time to announce the name of the candidate from Amethi. So much brainstorming is being done before announcing the Amethi candidate. This itself is the sign of defeat,” Smriti Irani said.
Speculations were rife after Congress Amethi district president Pradeep Singhal claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s name would be announced soon as the Amethi candidate. The party’s central leadership has not made any comment and there has been no meeting of the party’s central election committee. Singhal returned to Amethi after a meeting in Delhi. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the first meeting of the Congress’s Central Election Committee will take place at 6pm on March 7.
Amethi will be closely watched in both cases — if Rahul Gandhi becomes Congress’s candidate or someone else replaces Rahul Gandhi. Amethi has been the Congress stronghold since the ’80s and Rahul Gandhi represented the constituency since 2004. In 2019, Rahul Gandhi was defeated by Smriti Irani and the party is keen to win it back. When Congress’s yatra passed through Amethi a few weeks ago, Jairam Ramesh said Amethi still wants Rahul Gandhi. If Rahul Gandhi is not fielded, all eyes will be on the Congress leader who will get the mighty fight.
Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s election debut from Raebareli is also speculated as Sonia Gandhi has vacated the seat and moved to the Rajya Sabha. Like Amethi, Raebareli is also a stronghold of the Congress.