Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers for General Elections 2014 from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday.
The Gandhi scion was accompanied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Robert Vadra and senior leader Capt Satish Sharma and UPCC chief Nirmal Khatri.
Talking about the chances of party coming to power, Rahul said that opinion polls during 2004 and 2009 elections had predicted that Congress will lose. “However, it came to power. Same thing will happen this time as well,” he added while talking to reporters after filing his nomination papers.
Referring to the comment on the issue of Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate`s Narendra Modi`s marital status, Rahul said, “I didn`t get personal. I just stated that on his affidavit, he had previously not mentioned something.”
Rahul had earlier pointed out that the Gujarat CM had mentioned his marital status for the first time while filing nominations for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
“I don`t know how many elections the Gujarat CM has fought, but first time he has written his wife`s name on the affidavit,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a rally in Doda in Jammu & Kashmir on Friday.
“In Delhi, on posters talk is of giving respect to women, but in the affidavit there was no mention of wife till this time,” he added.
After filing the nomination, Rahul said that he shares a family-like relationship with Amethi. He added that the party has worked to improve the status of women and farmers. He also said that national highways, railway lines and employment will be his priority areas of focus.
Rahul reached Amethi after participating in around 40-km roadshow between Amhart in Sultanpur and Gauriganj in Amethi.
Travelling in a white SUV, both Rahul and Priyanka were welcomed by party workers who threw rose petals on them as they were enroute to file the nomination paper.
The mega road show started from Sultanpur where Rahul`s cousin Varun Gandhi is contesting elections on a BJP ticket.
Rahul is a two-time MP from Amethi and will be contesting elections against Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP) Smriti Irani and Aam Aadmi Party`s (AAP) Kumar Vishwas.
The constituency is better known to be the seat of power of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty since 1980, when Sanjay Gandhi represented it once and later Rajiv Gandhi represented the seat four times.
Rahul Gandhi has won elections twice from Amethi in 2004 and 2009 with huge majority. However, in the UP Assembly Elections 2012, Congress lost three of its five Assembly seats.
Prior to Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi represented the constituency but later vacated the seat for her son.
Elections in Amethi will be held on May 7.
