Hinting yet again that he is ready to join politics “if people want”, Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said on Monday that he is getting calls of support from party workers all over the country, including Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
“Not just Amethi, I am getting party workers’ support from all over the country to actively join politics. Yes, I admit that the Amethi bit (of him contesting Lok Sabha polls from the constituency) is getting more prominence because I have campaigned there since 1999. However, my posters have started appearing elsewhere too as people realise and admire the hard work that we have put in so far,” Mr Vadra told IANS in an exclusive interview.
Amethi was the Gandhi family’s stronghold for a long time before Smriti Irani won the seat in 2019.
However, Mr Vadra feels that the time has come for the people of Amethi to rectify the “mistake” they made by electing Smriti Irani five years back.
“They (people of Amethi) feel that if I contest from there, they’ll have the option of correcting their mistake of electing Smritiji. I am sure they will ensure my victory by a huge margin if I contest. However, I will not fight to challenge someone even though Smritiji levelled unsubstantiated allegations against me in the past,” Mr Vadra said.
The 55-year-old businessman from Moradabad also said that he would come out in full support if Rahul Gandhi decides to contest the elections from Amethi.
“If Rahul thinks that he should also fight from Amethi after Wayanad, I will fully support him and be with him during his campaigns. Also, I don’t need to be in active politics to interact with the people. They know they can always meet me in case Rahul or Priyanka are not available,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
