Rahul Gandhi does not trust people of Amethi, says Mansukh Mandaviya

After Congress named Rahul Gandhi as its candidate from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister and BJP candidate from the Porbandar parliamentary constituency in Gujarat Mansukh Mandaviya alleged on Friday that Gandhi does not trust the people of Amethi and UP, so he “ran away.”
“Who will contest the election from where, this is the prerogative of individuals and parties, but Rahul Gandhi running away from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat means he does not trust the people of Amethi and Uttar Pradesh, that’s why Rahul Gandhi has to run away from Amethi. This is important,” Mandaviya told ANI on Friday.
Rahul Gandhi, who was expected to make an all-out bid to win back Amethi, has been announced as the party candidate from Raebareli, the seat vacated recently by his mother Sonia Gandhi when she became a member of Rajya Sabha.
In Amethi, the family bastion which defected to the BJP five years ago, the Congress will be represented by Kishori Lal Sharma, a longtime loyalist of the Gandhi family.
On National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah’s statement that BJP crossing 400 seats will be dangerous for the Constitution, Mandaviya said, “The situation is that opposition parties themselves are in trouble. They are fighting for existence, and that is why the opposition keeps making absurd statements.”
Omar Abdullah alleged on Thursday that if the BJP crosses 400 seats in the polls, it would be dangerous for the Constitution.
Earlier in the day, Mandaviya held a road show at Manavar in Porbandar where he is pitted against the Congress’ Lalit Vasoya, a former MLA who belongs to the Patidar community. Before becoming a Rajya Sabha member, Mandaviya was elected an MLA from the Palitana assembly seat of Bhavnagar in 2002.
A total of 12 candidates are in the fray for the Porbandar Lok Sabha seat, and around 17, 94,000 voters will decide their fate. Polling for 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4. (ANI)