‘Had Priyanka contested, PM would have lost ‘

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, June 11

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said if his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had contested the Varanasi seat, she would have defeated Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a margin of “two to three lakh votes”.

Noting the Congress’ “good performance” in the elections across the country, including UP, Rahul, addressing first meeting in his constituency Raebareli after the poll victory, said the results showcased the people’s rejection of the “politics of hate, violence and arrogance represented by PM Modi”.

“The BJP lost in Ayodhya. PM Modi himself had a narrow escape in Varanasi. If my sister Priyanka had contested from Varanasi, she would have definitely won by a margin of two to three lakh votes,” he said. Ajay Rai, UP Congress president who fought against Modi and conceded defeat after leading the race during the first three rounds of counting, was also present on the dais.