Union Textiles Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Amethi, Smriti Irani, who is pitted against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the second time, claimed on Thursday that the grand old party was fighting a losing battle in Uttar Pradesh.
“We are giving a tough fight to the Congress chief so much so that the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have assured support to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. This is not a fight between BJP and Congress, it is a genuine fight between people and the “missing MP”, said Irani, who had lost to Rahul Gandhi by over one lakh votes in the 2014 parliamentary election.
The BJP candidate said that the condition of the Congress was so bad that it had to call party workers from other states to campaign in the Gandhi family bastion.
“Had Rahul worked for Amethi, the condition of Congress would not have been so miserable. Its party workers would not have deserted him,” she claimed.
“Till now Rahul Gandhi had been a missing MP but now he has become a missing candidate as well,” Irani said.
The BJP candidate was annoyed with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for her barb against the Prime Minister and UP Chief Minister over stray cattle menace.
“This is her real face. She is disrespecting a Prime Minister and a Chief Minister. She denigrated Gorakhnath Math chief,” Irani said.
Irani also raised the issue of children abusing and raising anti-Prime Minister slogans in the presence of Priyanka.
“Doesn’t Mrs Vadra know that you can’t use children for political purpose? What values you are giving to children. I would say that cultured families should keep their children away from such a person,” she commented.
The BJP candidate, who lost by over a lakh votes last time, said that the people of Amethi were fed up with Nehru-Gandhi scions and had decided to teach them a lesson this time.
Polling for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 6.