Old Congress loyalist's son to take on Rahul in Amethi

Amethi (UP), Mar 26: Severing generations-old links with the Congress, the son of a veteran party loyalist has decided to take on Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the Lok Sabha polls.

Haroon Rashid, whose father Haji Sultan had been the "proposer" in the poll nomination papers of the present Congress president's father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi, Tuesday said he has decided to fight for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat to work for the "neglected" people of the constituency.

"My father has worked with Maulana Azad, Panditji (Jawaharlal Nehru), Indiraji and Rajivji. There had never been any lure for power or post. I too have been associated with the party," he told PTI. He, however, did not disclose from which party he would contest the poll from the high-profile constituency.

Explaining his reasons for taking the electoral plunge from Amethi, he said, "There has to be something very serious for me to take this step." "For 70 years we have been living here. But the entire community and the constituency has remained neglected," he said, adding if there was nothing wrong, how come the Congress fared so badly in the assembly polls.

Rashid claimed there is no opposition in the family to his move to contest the poll and all the members including his father are backing him.

Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate. She had contested against Rahul Gandhi in 2014 and polled over three lakh votes against 4.07 lakh by the winning candidate. Amethi is scheduled to go to polls on May 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

PTI