Priyanka Gandhi clarifies on ‘weak candidate’ remark: Would rather die than benefit the BJP

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said that she would rather die than benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She also said that the Congress has fielded candidates that are either fighting very strongly or cutting BJP votes. I have not said I am putting weak candidates. I have said very clearly that Congress is fighting this election on its own strength. I would rather die than benefit the BJP. We have chosen candidates that are either fighting very strongly or cutting BJP votes, she said during campaign in Raebareli. Earlier this week, Gandhi in an interview had said that wherever the Congress was weak it had put candidates who can cut votes from the saffron party. Her statement did not go down well with many who claimed that the Congress had now become a vote cutter party. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also reacted to her statement and said that the Congress has now become a fringe organization. The grand old party of the Indian politics is now a fringe organization. It After 2009, the Congress has been losing ground in the state In 2014, the grand old party came down to just two seats from 22 in 2009. In the assembly election, the Congress allied with Samajwadi part but could win just 7 out of 105 seats it contested. In 2012, the Congress had won 28 seats. Keeping its previous performance in mind, the Congress was expecting some alliance with the SP and BSP. However, Mayawati and Akhilesh did not accommodate the grand old party and forged an alliance together. Miffed with SP and BSP, the Congress announced that it will field candidates on all 80 seats in the state