Rahul Gandhi holds Amethi roadshow before filing nomination

Congress president Rahul Gandhi held a roadshow in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday, 10 April, after arriving in his constituency to file his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha election.

The roadshow

He was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, her husband Robert Vadra and their children. The Congress chief was scheduled to cover a 3-km route from Munshiganj-Darpipur to Gauriganj before submitting his papers.

Rahul Gandhi has represented Amethi for 15 years. This time he is contesting from two Lok Sabha seats, Amethi and Wayanad. Amethi votes in the fifth phase on 6 May. His mother Sonia Gandhi was expected to file her nomination from Raebareli on Thursday and might also address a small street-corner meeting.

The BJP’s challenge

In Amethi, Rahul Gandhi again faces the BJP‘s Smriti Irani, whom he defeated by a margin of over one lakh votes in the 2014 general election.

Irani, a Union Minister, had originally planned to file her papers on 17 April, but because that date is a holiday she moved her filing to 11 April. A BJP spokesperson said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would come to Amethi on Thursday to accompany her. According to Govind Singh, the BJP’s media in-charge for Amethi, Irani would take part in a roadshow before filing and then address an election meeting.

What happened next

The 2019 Lok Sabha election was counted on 23 May 2019. The BJP won 303 of 543 seats and the Congress 52.

See also: constituency profiles

Originally published on 10 April 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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