Accepted defeat: Smriti Irani after Rahul ditches Amethi

Union minister Smriti Irani Friday said that the Gandhis' absence from the electoral fray in Amethi indicates that the Congress has accepted defeat even before polling.

"Gandhi family not being present in the election fray in Amethi indicates that Congress party has accepted its defeat in Amethi even before the polling on the seat," Irani, the sitting MP from Amethi, told reporters.

She made the remarks responding to Congress loyalist K L Sharma filing his nomination from the seat.

"Had they felt there was any chance of victory on the seat, they would have contested from here and not fielded their proxy," the BJP leader said, referring to the Gandhi family.

She asserted she will win the constituency again when it goes to polls on May 20.

Irani took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who filed his nomination from Rae Bareli on Friday, saying, "the one who was not accepted by Amethi and fled to Wayanad will never fully belong to Rae Bareli."

"Also the question is: he, in Wayanad, said it is his family. Now what will he say in Rae Bareli today?" she asked.

Rahul Gandhi has been a three-time MP from Amethi.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his streak was broken by Irani, who defeated him by a margin of more than 55,000 votes and was hailed as a "giant killer."

Responding to a question, Irani said now that people in Amethi have seen development under the Narendra Modi government, they are forced to wonder why it did not happen in the last 50 years.

"They are asking why the Gandhi family did so much damage to the area," she said.

"The PM had already predicted that after polling in Wayanad, Rahulji will look for a new seat and you are seeing it happen today," Irani said.

Rahul Gandhi is a sitting MP from Wayanad in Kerala and has contested the seat again this election.