What are voters saying about ‘Raebareli Ka Rahul Gandhi’?

In Raebareli, ‘Raebareli ka Rahul’ posters are plastered on almost every corner, surrounded by several Bharatiya Janata Party flags.

“Rahul Gandhi will win this time with over 400,000 votes because this is Gandhi’s land and this is here.” Janta Election Rati Hain, (The people are fighting the polls),” said Krishna, a bicycle repair shop owner.

Such was the sentiment echoed widely in the lanes of Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, where the fifth phase of voting will be held on May 20. The Quints visited Raebareli, a strong seat of the Congress for two decades, to understand which way the people were leaning. What are their biggest issues and what do you think about the BJP’s election campaign?

Opposite Krishna’s shop is the office of the local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kalyalaya opened here, all the media has to do is come to them, talk to 20 officials and that’s it. Just ask the shopkeepers and the public and they’ll tell you something. “Maybe,” says Krishna.

Takitani is an undeveloped area that the Gandhi family visited in the past. Here I met supporters of the BJP and supporters of the Gandhi family.

Syed Fazil, an electrician, was furious and said, “Prime Minister Modi is blowing the trumpet of Awas Yojana. Where are the ‘pukka’ houses? Go to the villages and investigate. We’ll see,” he said.

Everything in Raebareli was given to us by Parliament. ITI, racecourses, AIIMS, it’s all given to us by Congress. What did the BJP do? Former leaders like Dinesh Pratap Singh plundered the BJP. They destroyed stores and homes on the Civil Line, leaving people homeless.

Saeed Fazil, Electrical Engineer

Meanwhile, Jitendra Kumar was a few meters away, sitting in his shop observing our conversation. Mr. Kumar is also associated with the BJP.

“I like the Bharatiya Janata Party and the work they have done here. I am not a fan of PM Modi or his Ram Mandir politics, but I support the Congress,” he said. Bhujta Hua Chirag.” (a flame that is about to burn out).

Most of the locals in the area said they still prefer Rahul Gandhi over Dinesh Pratap Singh.

Fazil said, “Poverty has reached its breaking point and inflation has reached its breaking point. Workers are stressed about work. Without jobs, people have nothing to do. The most important problem is inflation. and employment,” he added.

Now, although Singh lost to Sonia Gandhi in 2019, the difference in votes was significantly reduced to 1.5 million votes compared to 3.5 million votes in 2014.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi held a public meeting in Maharajganj, a few kilometers from the main city.

A sea of ​​orange, green, white and red flags of Congress and Samajwadi Party. When Rahul began addressing the crowd, the crowd went wild with cheers, jumping up and down and passing by.

Businessman Mohd Tahir said:

Navneet, another local banker, pointed out that the biggest and most worrying problem in Raebareli is unemployment.

“We chose Rahul because he talks about employment, gives us security and makes realistic demands. Berozgari That is the main problem affecting the people of the city,” he said.

Meanwhile, referring to political change, Congress media spokesperson Puneet Pathak said, “Change is the only constant.”

“There is no contest here. Rahul will win. Dinesh Pratap can try on his own but there is no contest. Amit Shah questioned Priyanka but what will his party do against Raebareli? Smriti Irani too will only contest Amethi as it was Rahul’s seat,” he told The Quint.

Akhilesh Chand Shukla, an SP member who was listening to our conversation, said, “I come from a family that even protested against Indira Gandhi during the 1975 Emergency and we burned her.” It was an incident that led to this,” he added. Putrus after that. But today we stand with Congress. ”

Until 2018, Singh himself was a member of the Congress before defecting to the BJP. Local residents believe that he is unlikely to win.

Advocate Dinesh Dutta spoke about Rahul Gandhi and said, “He is a hero and a voice for the marginalized and the opposition. I represent them,” he said.

We also tested what the public thought about Prime Minister Modi’s latest speech and the misinformation that the WebQoof team has debunked several times.

Regarding Prime Minister Modi’s insistence on a quota for Muslims as mentioned in the Congress manifesto, Krishna said as he pulled out a copy of the manifesto from his garage.

Prime Minister Modi should not harbor such delusions. OBCs include many castes such as Yadavs, Pals, Mauryas, and Muslims. There are many castes among OBCs. Next, exclude Muslims from OBC. Why are they even in it? The manifesto is right in front of you, but it doesn’t say anything like that. But does that mean that Muslims could not take the country for 70 years, but in 4 or 5 years they will take the country?

Krishna owns a motorcycle garage

Meanwhile, Mohd Irfan Khan, a local resident of Ali Miyan Chowk, criticized Prime Minister Modi’s recent claim that the Congress had received funds “via Tempos” from industrialists Gautam Adani and Ambanis. “They are telling Rahul Gandhi today that they have taken funds from them,” he said. If it is tempos and it is black money, then attach ED and CBI to it,” he said.