Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made an emotional appeal to the voters of Amethi urging them to re-elect him and promising to give momentum to the development works in his Lok Sabha constituency "blocked" by the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
In a letter written in Hindi to members of his "Amethi pariwar" (Amethi family), Gandhi said he drew strength from them to stand firmly and listen to their woes.
He accused the BJP of starting a "factory of lies" and using huge cash to lure voters but said he was confident that the people of Amethi won't fall into this trap.
Voting in Amethi will be held on May 6 and Gandhi is pitted against Union minister Smriti Irani, whom he had defeated in 2014 by a margin of over one lakh votes.
Gandhi alleged the BJP has stalled development of the area and sought public support for ensuring speedy completion of work.
"Amethi is my family. My Amethi family gives me the strength to stand with the truth and hear the pain of the poor and the downtrodden and raise their voice and take a pledge for ensuring justice to all.
"On the basis of lessons of love that you have given me, I have tried to unite the country from north to south and from east to west," he said in his appeal.
"It is my promise to the people of Amethi that as soon as the Congress forms its government at the Centre, the schemes blocked by the BJP will be started with full pace. On May 6, vote in large numbers to bring back this member of the family," the three-time MP from the seat said.
Comparing the ideology of the Congress and the ruling BJP, he accused the latter of aiming to install 15 to 20 industrialists as the owners of the government.
"On the one hand, is the voice emerging from my 'karambhoomi' Amethi which says one has to work for farmers, youth, women, the poor and small shopkeepers, while on the other hand is the voice of the BJP which wants the government to be in the hands of only 15-20 big industrialists," he wrote.
Noting that the voice of his 'karambhoomi' is "finding resonance across India, he said the entire country is standing against the injustice done by the BJP in the last five years and is standing with the truth".
Irani has been alleging that Gandhi has not done anything for the people of his constituency.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said in Lucknow that the letter would be posted on social media platforms and party workers would go door-to-door in Amethi with the message from the party president. Gandhi had defeated Irani in 2014 by a margin of over one lakh votes.
