Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, has hinted at contesting Lok Sabha elections from the Amethi parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. In an exclusive interview with India TV, Vadra mentioned that there has been a widespread request from across the country for him to join politics.
Vadra hinted at his interest in entering politics, noting that there is a strong desire from the people for him to do so. As a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family, Vadra expressed that it’s challenging to stay away from politics. However, he also mentioned that he prefers Priyanka Gandhi to enter Parliament first, suggesting that his turn would come afterwards.
Amethi became a hot seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election after Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi from the seat that belonged to the Gandhi bastion for decades. Rahul Gandhi won Amethi in 2004, 2009 and 2014 but Smriti Irani broke the record. The Congress has not yet announced the candidate for Amethi and Raebarelli while Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Wayanad.
Apart from Amethi, Raebareli gained significance this time as Sonia Gandhi, the sitting MP, moved to the Rajya Sabha. Vadra said now people of Amethi are regretting the election of Smriti Inrani, as except daily abusing Gandhi family hardly doing any work for people.
“The people of Amethi understood their mistake. And I feel now they want a Gandhi family member to represent the constituency. Even I get requests from Amethi people that if I join politics, I should choose Amethi. I remember, my first political campaign with Priyanka was in Amethi in 1999,” Robert Vadra said.
Vadra said that he has been working on the ground since 1999. He said, “People want me to step into politics. Whether it’s the state elections or the central elections, they feel I need to enter politics. Being a member of the Gandhi family, it’s very difficult to stay away from politics. There are demands coming from many places.”
He highlighted the support from his hometown Moradabad, where people want him to represent them. “I am from Moradabad, and people there want me to represent them, but I have done a lot of work in Amethi, Raebareli, Jagdishpur, and Sultanpur since 1999. If I talk about the South, there were a lot of requests from Telangana for Priyanka and me,” he added.
