Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress leader Vikas Agrahari has refuted reports that he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after an image of him went viral. In the image, Agrahari appeared to be posing with BJP MP Smriti Irani. Agrahari denied reports that he had joined the BJP and said he “never left” the Congress, adding that the “party is in his blood and soul.”
“I never left the Congress. The truth is that I did not join the BJP. 'Mere khoon mein Congress hai. Meri aatma mein Congress hai. Mere mann mein Congress hai. I am not going to fear anyone. That's me and I will too.' always remain the Congressman,” Vikas Agrahari told reporters in Amethi.
He further said that he was going to meet them about the issues in his region, adding that he had never joined the BJP.
“I had gone to meet them about the problems in my area. There is a formal welcome that takes place when people meet. The same thing happened there too. But later, when I came back, I came to know that there were reports in the media that I was a member was from the BJP. But the truth is that I have not made any statements there; there is no video of me showing that I am a member of the BJP. I came to know this myself through media reports, and that is why I am here To refute it, I took the time to meet them, but for some reason it could not happen. There were many problems for which I went to meet them with a regular towel,” he said.
Earlier, there were reports that Vikas Agrahari had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Union Minister and BJP candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency Smriti Irani.
Smriti Irani defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family, in one of the biggest upsets of the polls. However, the Congress has announced that Gandhi will contest again from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, a seat he won in the 2019 general elections.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases from April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in the 2024 general elections.
The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4. The most populous state, which sends the most members to the House of Representatives at age 80, will vote in all seven phases.
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Published: Apr 18, 2024 7:05 PM IST