Rahul sends team to Amethi to ascertain cause of defeat

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday sent a team to Amethi to find out the reason for his shocking defeat to BJP leader Smriti Irani from the parliamentary constituency which was considered a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The team comprises of AICC secretary Zubair Khan and Congress' Raebareli in-charge KL Sharma. Both the leaders have been asked to give a report for the reason for the loss, said a senior party functionary from Amethi.

Sharma was looking after Amethi Lok Sabha seat till 2009 when he was replaced by Chandrakant, a party worker from Madhya Pradesh. He now manages Raebareli parliamentary seat, which is UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's constituency. In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, Rahul lost to Irani by over 55,000 votes from Amethi seat.