Union minister Smriti Irani on Monday bought a plot of land in Amethi to build a house for herself and, in an apparent dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said no member of Parliament from here ever made the constituency his house.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gave a huge blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance by winning 43 seats out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA won 64 seats -- 62 bagged by the BJP and two by Apna Dal.
The Congress leader said democracy allows dissent and debate and not monologues in an apparent barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Rahul is not even a lamp before the sun'
In a video Smriti Irani lambasted Rahul Gandhi for not paying obeisance at the Swami Vivekananda memorial in Kanyakumari from where he set out on the yatra five days ago.
Modi said that Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an "all-time low"
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday declared 13 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls including actor Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in popular TV serial Ramayan, from Meerut, while replacing sitting MP Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit with state minister Jitin Prasada.
Shah said, "Rahul baba cannot see development as he sports Italian spectacles."
100 of the 1,198 candidates are women.
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
"I do not mind if attacks are made on me but what pains me is that Modiji snatched the food park from Amethi...it was meant to transform Amethi and Raebareli," he said.
The BJP, which romped to power in 2019 on the back of an unequivocal mandate from UP, winning 62 of its 80 seats, was cut to size this time and had to be content with only 33 seats.
The Congress chief will also be contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
Priyanka's victory seems assured, but the broader implications for Kerala's political landscape and South Indian politics remain to be seen.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a post on X that his 18-year-long stint in public service has come to an end.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
Lack of organisational network and a strong disconnect with the rural population led to the Congress president's defeat in what until now had been described as a party stronghold.
'They want to keep the pot boiling all the time.' 'The BJP wants to set a political narrative that the Gandhis are doing wrong things.'
Gandhi is scheduled to visit Amethi from October 4-6.
Aam Admi Party leader Kumar Vishwas on Monday said he would be taking on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in Lok Sabha elections and dared the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to run from the same constituency and "see who wins" the contest.
Fielding of candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli was one of the issues of contention between Congress and Samajwadi Party during their talks to forge the pre-poll alliance.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday held an impressive roadshow in family pocket borough Amethi as a huge crowd chanted slogans praising the Congress vice-president who has been representing the constituency for the past 10 years.
As many as 37 ministers have been dropped from the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term and these include seven with cabinet rank -- prominent among them being Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Narayan Rane.
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
The ruling party appears to have worked to a plan, beginning with the weaning away of Congress MLC and MLAs.
Irani has said she did not complete her Bachelor of Commerce (Part-I) -- a three-year degree course -- from Delhi University's School of Open Learning in 1994.
The Ulema Council, which recently staged protests against what it termed as "harassment" of Muslim youths in the name of terror, declared on Turesday that it would field candidates against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Rahul said there was no development because a different party is ruling UP.
Several BJP voters say the Ram temple sentiment may give the ruling party a fillip but are also aware of the herculean task at hand and concede that it is a daunting electoral contest for Dinesh Singh, who lost to Sonia Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
"We are going to have a meeting with our partners tomorrow. These questions will be raised and answered there," Gandhi told a press conference in New Delhi when asked if the Congress and its allies will approach parties that are part of the National Democratic Alliance to try and form a government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the electoral bonds as the 'world's biggest extortion scheme' and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the 'champion of corruption'.
He will stay in Amethi for two days and will address at least three public meetings in Jagadishpur, Tiloi and Gauriganj assembly segments.
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