Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Congress said that its party office in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi was allegedly 'attacked by BJP goons' on Sunday at midnight, in which some Congress workers also sustained injuries. The party also alleged that several vehicles parked outside the Congress office in Amethi were also vandalised.
The party said that while “vehicles of local people were also damaged, the police administration remained a mute spectator”.
Congress targets Smriti Irani
Taking to the X, the Congress targeted the ruling party and its Amethi candidate Smriti Irani, stating that it reflects the BJP's desperation as they are losing the Lok Sabha elections badly.
“Smriti Irani and BJP workers are badly scared in Amethi, UP. Frustrated over the defeat they saw, BJP goons armed with sticks and rods reached outside the Congress office in Amethi and vandalised vehicles parked there. There was an attack on Congress workers and the people of Amethi. Many people are badly injured in this attack. This incident shows that the BJP is going to lose badly in Amethi,” the Congress said in an X while sharing a video of the alleged incident.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that the police remained a silent spectator, while the BJP workers continued with their hooliganism. “The wind has changed, breaking vehicles will not solve the problem, BJP people! Shrinate wrote on X.
Amethi Police response
Responding to Supriya Shrinate's post, the Amethi Police said that necessary legal action is being taken by registering a case under relevant sections. “On the basis of the complaint received at the Gauriganj police station, necessary legal action is being taken by registering a case under the relevant sections," said police.
Congress fields Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi
The Congress has fielded a close associate and loyalist of the Gandhi family Kishori Lal Sharma against sitting MP Smriti Irani from Amethi. Kishori Lal Sharma is originally from Punjab’s Ludhiana. He had been the manager of Sonia Gandhi in her absence on the Rae Bareli seat.
Sharma's ties with the Gandhi family deepened after the passing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. He has been working for the Congress party for years in Amethi where he first came in 1983 and continued since then. He had played a pivotal role in Sonia Gandhi’s maiden electoral victory in 1999 on the Amethi seat.
Amethi has been a stronghold of the Congress party for decades where party stalwarts like Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and top leader Rahul Gandhi contested successfully. The seat is also known as the Gandhi family bastion until being won by Smriti Irani in 2019 against Rahul Gandhi.
The Amethi seat has got a non-Gandhi family candidate for the first time in 25 years in the form of Kishori Lal Sharma. Sonia Gandhi was a candidate on the seat in 1999. After she shifted to Rae Bareli in 2004, Rahul Gandhi contested the polls from Amethi and remained an MP till 2019 until his defeat at the hands of Irani.
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