"Will win all seats in Uttar Pradesh": BJP leader Jay Panda in Amethi
Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 16 (ANI): BJP national vice president Baijayant (Jay) Panda, visited Amethi, one of the key electoral battlegrounds in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, on Friday, saying his party will win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and sitting MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani will win a second straight term in the Lower House from the constituency. Speaking to ANI on Friday, on the sidelines of his visit to Amethi, Panda said, "Sensing the pulse of the people here and the sheer popularity of Union Minister Smriti Irani, who is the sitting MP here, I can say with full conviction that she is well-poised for a historic win and a second term in the Lok Sabha from Amethi. In Uttar Pradesh, we will secure victory in all 80 seats and PM Modi will return to office for a third straight term."The country’s most populous state also sends the maximum number of members to the Lok Sabha. Amethi used to be a Congress stronghold before Rahul Gandhi, who currently represents the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency of Kerala in the Lower House, lost to Irani by a margin of about 55,000 votes in the 2019 elections. The BJP vice president arrived in the constituency for a meeting with party workers, during which he took stock of preparations for the key poll battle. "Today, I visited Amethi for the first time. I will hold a meeting with party workers and interact with people from different sections of society, as well as teams that are involved in the elections," Panda said. He also offered puja at the Mata Ahorawa Bhavani Devi temple in Amethi. Earlier, in March, expressing surprise over the prolonged delay in the announcement of the Congress party candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister Irani said it was possibly an indication that the Congress had sensed defeat in the upcoming elections. "Why are people who say that Amethi is the Gandhi family’s bastion taking so much time to announce a candidate? Their lack of confidence tells us that Amethi is no longer the Congress stronghold it once was," she said. On speculations of Rahul Gandhi contesting from two seats--Wayanad and Amethi, the Union Minister said, "If he is contesting these two seats, it means that he is announcing his defeat from Amethi even before the elections. If he has the courage, he should contest Amethi alone without seeking the help of Mayawati or Akhilesh Yadav. The truth about where he stands as a leader will be out for everyone to see.""I don’t know who the Congress candidate would be, but it is strange for the Congress to take so long to declare their candidate from Amethi. This is a clear sign that the Congress has realised that it faces defeat," she added. (ANI)