Old Congress loyalist's son to take on Rahul in Amethi

Severing generations-old links with the Congress, the son of a veteran party loyalist has decided to take on Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the Lok Sabha polls.

Haroon Rashid, whose father Haji Sultan had been the "proposer" in the poll nomination papers of the present Congress president's father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi, Tuesday said he has decided to fight for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat to work for the "neglected" people of the constituency.

"My father has worked with Maulana Azad, Panditji (Jawaharlal Nehru), Indiraji and Rajivji. There had never been any lure for power or post. I too have been associated with the party," he told PTI.

He, however, did not disclose from which party he would contest the poll from the high-profile constituency.

Explaining his reasons for taking the electoral plunge from Amethi, he said, "There has to be something very serious for me to take this step."