After Rahul Gandhi's Amethi visit, Amit Shah, Smriti Irani in Congress bastion today

New Delhi: BJP national president Amit Shah arrived in Lucknow from where he will proceed to Amethi, which is considered a traditional Congress bastion, on Tuesday.

The BJP chief will be addressing a public rally in Amethi today.

BJP President Amit Shah arrives in Lucknow. He will be addressing a public rally in Amethi; UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also present. pic.twitter.com/RrMlYncFkM — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 10, 2017

Shah's Amethi visit comes just three days after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi wrapped up a high-profile tour of his Lok Sabha constituency.

Shah has a slew of programmes lined up in Amethi, Sitapur and Lucknow districts, according to a release from the BJP chief's office.

भाजपा राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री @AmitShah के आज उत्तर प्रदेश में सार्वजनिक कार्यक्रम। pic.twitter.com/W5VlJuUPpy — Office of Amit Shah (@AmitShahOffice) October 10, 2017

These include addressing a public meeting and inaugurating a number of other development projects in Amethi.

Union Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, who was the BJP candidate against Rahul Gandhi in the last Lok Sabha election, had already reached Amethi to oversee the preparations for Shah’s meetings. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also expected to meet the two BJP leaders in Amethi. 

Beneficiaries of various schemes will be handed over certificates, a statement issued by the UP government said.

Amethi, which has traditionally been a Congress bastion, had witnessed a high-pitched electoral battle in the 2014 Lok Sabha election between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani.

Though Irani lost to the Congress leader, she reduced his victory margin from around 3.70 lakh in 2009 to 1.07 lakh in 2014.

Importantly, in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, the BJP won six of the 10 assembly seats falling under the parliamentary constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Meanwhile, even before Shah's arrival in Amethi, the Congress had already received a severe jolt, when Gandhi family loyalist, UP Congress general secretary and former Congress legislator from Gauriganj (Amethi) Jung Bahadur Singh resigned from the party. 

Siugh is tipped to join BJP now. 

Rahul, during his visit on October 5, had accused the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh of re-inaugurating the projects launched by the previous UPA regime in the district.

He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the unemployment problem and farmers’ issues, and dared him to allow the Congress to resolve the problems in six months.