"I am MP of Amethi first and its people are most important for me," Rahul Gandhi said on his first visit to his Lok Sabha constituency after being elevated as Congress vice president.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has decided to cut short his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh by skipping western part of the state and saving five days, a party leader said on Monday while citing board exams.
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 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'
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.
Shah said, "Rahul baba cannot see development as he sports Italian spectacles."
Modi said that Congress' tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an "all-time low"
Without making two-thirds of the country's population a development partner, India's prosperity is impossible, the Congress leader added.
"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.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
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.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a post on X that his 18-year-long stint in public service has come to an end.
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.
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.
Priyanka's victory seems assured, but the broader implications for Kerala's political landscape and South Indian politics remain to be seen.
Gandhi is scheduled to visit Amethi from October 4-6.
The ruling party appears to have worked to a plan, beginning with the weaning away of Congress MLC and MLAs.
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.
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.
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
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 said there was no development because a different party is ruling UP.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, inheritors of the family pocket borough, not only failed to protect industrial units but also to contribute to progress of their own.
A day after the declaration of election schedule by the Election Commission, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday visited her brother Rahul Gandhi's parliamentary constituencyAmethi, and in a pep talk gave "winning tips" to party workers at a Congress Sewadal programme in the Gauriganj area.
Rahul Gandhi said both Rae Bareli and Wayanad "will get two MPs".
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.
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'.
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday said he could not visit Amethi during his ongoing anti-corruption yatra in Uttar Pradesh as the Ashram which had extended him invitation was pressurised not to call him.
"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.
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed his nomination papers from Amethi constituency which he has represented in Lok Sabha twice and expressed confidence about retaining it for the third straight time.
The seat equation for the opposition alliance will become a matter of debate as UP Congress state president Ajay Rai mentioned that Congress is prepared for all 80 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and is ready to contest on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Amethi member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi has launched a series of 'chaupal sabhas' and mini road-shows to win votes for mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi -- seeking re-election from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP's top leadership will drop its MPs found to be facing anti-incumbency, according to its internal surveys -- a pivotal tactic to ensure the party achieves its target of winning 370 seats.
Priyanka Gandhi in large part was at the centre of the Congress's action, giving a number of enduring images from this election campaign.
Commenting that running a country is not a play for those born with a golden spoon, Modi said, "They have gone from Amethi and will go even from Rae Bareli."
The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, would visit Parliament as a teenager to listen to her father Rajiv Gandhi speak as prime minister.
Exigencies of electoral politics and individual ambitions often stoke family feuds and sibling rivalries.
He accused the BJP of starting a "factory of lies" and using huge cash to lure voters but said he was confident that the people of Amethi won't fall into this trap.
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