I will never leave Amethi: Rahul Gandhi

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made an impassioned appeal to the people that he would never sever his ties with Amethi, the consituency he lost to BJP's Smriti Irani in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

"My relationship with Amethi is personal and not political. Victory and defeat are a part of political life but I will never leave Amethi," Rahul Gandhi said at a meeting.

Rahul asked party workers to remain prepared for a long battle to resurrect the Congress and said that he would stand by them all through.

More than 15,000 people turned up for the meeting for which only 1,200 were invited. The meeting was held in the Nirmala Devi Institute.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi visited the home of Congress worker Ganga Prasad Gupta who had died recently and offered condolences to his family in Gauriganj.

District Congress President Yogendra Misra said that there were no political overtones to Rahul's visit.

"Amethi is his home and he has every right to visit his home. He is meeting village heads, panchayat members and members of frontal organizations and taking feedback from them. He is also taking suggestions for the revival of the party," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rahul was welcomed by senior Congress leaders including UPCC President Raj Babbar and former MP Pramod Tiwari at the airport. Gandhi later travelled to meeting venue by road.