Union Minister Smriti Irani and her husband, Zubin Irani, performed traditional rituals during the ‘Griha Pravesh’ ceremony at their home in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. A video showing Smriti and her husband performing the rituals has been shared.
The traditions at Smriti Irani’s new home started on Wednesday. Led by the priest Ashish Maharaj from Ujjain, the housewarming ceremony began. The consecration of the newly installed idols of deities in their new home also took place.
The ‘Griha Pravesh’ is a customary Hindu ritual performed when someone moves into a new home.
Irani purchased 11 biswa (1,650 sq yard or 14850 sqft) land in the village of Mawai in Gauriganj Tehsil in 2021 and built a luxurious house, where she has now performed the Griha Pravesh ceremony. In 2019, she announced her plan to construct a permanent residence in the area.
In 2014, Smriti Irani contested elections in Amethi for the first time but was unsuccessful. However, she ran again in 2019 and emerged victorious against Rahul Gandhi.
Amethi is known for the heated electoral battles between Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani. Both leaders revisited the constituency ahead of the impending Lok Sabha elections. While BJP’s Smriti Irani conducted a Jan Samwad in her area, Rahul Gandhi embarked on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.Reflecting on her victory over Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by approximately 55,000 votes, Smriti Irani asserted that the resentment of Amethi’s populace towards the Congress leader is palpable. She cited Gandhi’s comments post his victory in Wayanad and the Congress’s abstention from the Ram Temple inauguration as sources of discontent among Amethi residents, evident in the sparse reception he received in the streets.Challenging Rahul Gandhi to contest solely from Amethi in the upcoming elections, Smriti Irani questioned the Congress’s stance on Gandhi’s potential candidacy. In response, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh deferred to the decision of the Central Election Committee, emphasizing Amethi’s significance historically for the party.
Amethi, once a Congress stronghold, shifted allegiance in 2019 with Rahul’s defeat to Smriti Irani. Previously, Rahul Gandhi had represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha for three terms, winning by a significant margin in 2014 against Irani.
Despite the Congress’s historical prominence, its electoral prospects in the state have dwindled. In the 2019 elections, the party secured only one seat in Uttar Pradesh—Rae Bareli, represented by Sonia Gandhi until now. However, Sonia Gandhi announced her decision not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due to health and age-related concerns.
(Inputs from ANI)
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