Taking potshots at the Congress, he said “People don’t believe the grand old party as it has lost connect with people not in Amethi but everywhere in the country”.
He also said that the people of Amethi will support him the way they have supported him in past.
One can easily find out the royal palace the “Raj Mahal”, situated in the Ramnagar area, a huge mansion built in the 19th century with lush gardens all around, surrounded by large mango groves.
Once close to Congress’ Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, he has turned against the party, as he has recently joined the BJP.
Speaking to The New Indian, after the campaigning came to a halt on Friday evening, Singh said, “There is no competition and no one is in the race. People are with me. They have left their work and they will ensure my victory.”
When asked about Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi campaigning aggressively in Amethi for their party candidates, he said, “They are the leaders of their party and they must campaign for their candidates. You can see Congress is not visible. Leave Amethi, it is not visible in Uttar Pradesh,” he noted.
To a question that his family, especially his father Raja Rananjay Singh played a crucial role in bringing the Gandhi family to Amethi to contest elections and then Rahul Gandhi losing from the seat in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Sinh said, “Main thing is that Rahul Gandhi and Congress have lost their connect with Amethi as well as the masses in-country and in Uttar Pradesh.
“When you lose the connect then people will go away. People of Amethi have already discarded Rahul Gandhi as he lost to Smriti Irani. And today people are not ready to take them seriously,” the BJP leader said.
To another question on former minister Gayatri Prajapati’s wife Maharaji Devi bursting into tears in public meetings, he said, “The whole country knows why Gayatri Prajapati was sentenced to life imprisonment. How the girl from Chitrakoot was victimized and Prajapati was jailed through the legal process”, he added.
“So sympathy should go to the woman who was victimized and not to Maharaji Devi. It is the legal action and legal course will act,” he added.
Maharaji Devi and her two daughters burst often burst into tears, alleging that Prajapati has been framed.
Prajapati was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2017 rape case. He had won from Amethi in 2012 and also became a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government.
To another question former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accusing the BJP of fielding maximum candidates with a criminal background, Singh said, “He is wrong because if there is any case and the person is not guilty until the court has delivered its verdict. Mere lodging of an FIR doesn’t mean that he is a criminal. So there is nothing against anyone until he is proven guilty”.
When reminded about his victory by a record margin in 1985 assembly elections and how much margin he expects in 2022 assembly elections, he said, “I am not an astrologer so I can’t tell you the exact margin. But you can see the love and affection and they have already given me a margin of more than 1,20,000 in 1985 and they will definitely not let me down. They will definitely ensure my victory.”
Pointing out at his supporters, he said, “You can see them cheering for me and they will support me the way they have supported me always.”
In the 1985 assembly elections, Singh’s early days in politics, he got 98 percent of the total votes polled, not short of a record. More than one lakh of votes out of the approximately 3.81 lakh voters in this seat went to him, ensuring an overwhelming victory.
Later, he went on to be elected in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. He was also a state minister in the successive Congress-led governments.
To another question about the issue of stray cattle taking the front seat in Uttar Pradesh and many people complaining about the same to him, he said, “They are not stray cattle but they have been abandoned by the villagers. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has already said that after March 10 some concrete steps will be taken for the cattle menace.”
When asked about the BJP fielding him despite his first and second wife Garima and Ameeta both in the race for the party ticket from Amethi, he said, “Party has now decided to field me and it is the reason why I am contesting from Amethi and I am with my people and campaigning.”
Ameeta Sinh was an MLA from Amethi in 2002 and 2007, once as BJP and Congress candidate each. In 2017, Garima Singh while contesting as BJP candidate defeated Ameeta Singh, who was fielded by Congress. Both of them had mentioned Sanjay Singh as their spouses in the election affidavit.
The Congress has fielded former minister in the BSP government, Ashish Shukla, 61, from the seat. Shukla had joined the BJP in 2017.
BSP, meanwhile, has fielded Ragini Tiwari, hoping to win over a large chunk of Brahmin votes along with its core Dalit votes.
Amethi will vote in the fifth phase on February 27. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
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