Amethi: BJP workers on Wednesday burnt an effigy of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, as he arrived in Amethi. The effigy was burnt outside a guest house near Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.

Police were deployed in large numbers and managed to pacify the agitators before Gandhi’s arrival.

Rahul Gandhi reached Amethi on a one-day visit to inaugurate the open-heart surgery operation theatre at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, which is managed by the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust. Gandhi, a trustee of the hospital, was greeted by hundreds of supporters with garlands in Jais town during a brief stop.

On Tuesday, Gandhi visited his Raebareli constituency. He chaired a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting at Bachat Bhawan, where he reviewed development projects and discussed plans with officials from 78 departments.

During the visit, Gandhi also inaugurated a solar power and EV charging facility, unveiled a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Bachhrawan, and distributed 15 hand carts to needy residents. He also visited the rail coach factory in Lalganj and addressed party workers in the Sareni Assembly segment.

A political row also erupted in Raebareli after the BJP Yuva Morcha leaders put up posters targeting Gandhi over his push for a caste census. The posters, seen in Harchandpur, read: “You would divide using casteism, we will unite using nationalism. Please spare our Raebareli of caste-based politics.”

Rahul Gandhi won the 2024 Raebareli Lok Sabha seat by defeating BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh with a margin of 3.9 lakh votes and a 66.17 per cent vote share, reclaiming the Congress stronghold once held by his mother, Sonia Gandhi.

Gandhi, who won from Raebareli seat, held for a long time by his mother and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.