‘Will follow Priyanka…’: Robert Vadra reacts to wife’s electoral debut
Vadra, who on multiple occasions has teased his electoral entry, said Priyanka deserves a poll debut before him and he can make his own at the right time
Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has teased his electoral entry on multiple occasions in the past, has once again rekindled the topic, stating that he will contest polls when the time is right.
The Congress on Monday (June 17) announced that Priyanka will make her electoral debut by contesting the bypolls from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, after it was vacated by her brother Rahul Gandhi. Rahul who won both from Wayanad and Rae Bareli has chosen to continue from the latter.
‘Will follow Priyanka when time is right’
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday (June 18), Vadra said he is happy with Priyanka’s decision and that she deserves to be in Parliament.
“First, I would like to thank the people of India for teaching a lesson to the BJP. They played religion-based politics. I am happy that Priyanka Gandhi is going to fight from Wayanad. She should be in Parliament, not because she has been campaigning but I want her to be in Parliament,” he said.
In his praise for his wife, Vadra also seemed to hint that he himself is keen on being a Parliamentarian.
“She should be in the Parliament before me. I can follow whenever it is the right time. I am happy, and I hope people will give her a good mandate,” he said.
Vadra’s interest in electoral battle
This is not the first time the Gandhi son-in-law has expressed his desire to contest the elections.
In the run up to the Lok Sabha polls this year, when the Congress was tightlipped about its choice of candidates for Rae Bareli and Amethi, Vadra had claimed that there were demands from supporters from several parts of the country for him to contest from Amethi.
“The people of Amethi expect me to represent their constituency if I decide to become a member of Parliament,” he told reporters in early April.
In an interview with ANI, he had said that people want him to contest from Amethi as he has been campaigning in the constituency since 1999.
“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,” he had said.
Posters demanding ticket for Vadra
Later that month, posters pitching for Vadra’s nomination had cropped up in Amethi.
“Amethi ki janta kare pukar, Robert Vadra ab ki baar (people of Amethi want Robert Vadra this time),” one poster read.
Despite the claims, neither Vadra nor the Gandhi siblings – Rahul and Priyanka – were fielded from the seat.
Party war horse Kishori Lal Sharma, who after much suspense was announced as the Congress candidate from Amethi, unseated BJP’s Smriti Irani by a margin of over 1.69 lakh votes, reclaiming the Gandhi family pocket borough from the saffron party.