‘Getting calls from party workers’: Robert Vadra hints again about contesting from Amethi

Amid speculation about who is going to be the Congress candidate for the Amethi seat in the Lok Sabha elections this time, Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, hinted again about the possibility of him entering politics and contesting these polls from Amethi.

In an interview with news agency IANS, Vadra said he was receiving calls from Congress party workers all over the country, and Amethi in particular, offering their support.

“Yes, I admit that the news about me contesting from Amethi is getting more prominence because I have campaigned there since 1999,” he said.

Amethi was a Congress and Gandhi family stronghold till the 2019 elections when the BJP leader Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi.

Vadra said it’s time for the people of Amethi to rectify their mistake of electing Smriti Irani in 2019. He said he was sure that the Amethi electorate would ensure he won by a huge majority if he contested from there this time. He also said that though Smriti Irani had directed unsubstantiated allegations against him in the past, he would not fight to challenge her.

Priyanka’s husband also said he would give his full support to his brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi if he decided to contest from Amethi, apart from Wayanad, and that he would be with him during his campaigns.

“I don’t need to be in active politics to interact with the people. They are aware that they can always meet me in case Priyanka or Rahul are not available,” said Vadra.

He ended by criticising the Modi government at the Centre for destabilising Congress state governments whenever they came to power, and said a party should be allowed to complete its term after the people had voted it to power. Vadra said arresting opposition leaders or removing them from Parliament is not democracy but dictatorship.