The entire factory caught fire after the explosion

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the high-stakes contest on the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh on May 20. Senior leader Rahul Gandhi kept up the suspense during a press conference today and was non-committal when asked about who will the party field against BJP’s Smriti Irani.

“This is BJP’s question, very good. Whatever order I will get, I will follow it. In our party, all these (selections of candidates) decisions are taken by the Congress Election Committee,” Mr Gandhi said when asked who the Congress will field from Amethi.

#WATCH | Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh: When asked whether he will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi or Raebareli, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says, “This is BJP’s question, very good. Whatever order I will get, I will follow it. In our party, all these (selections of… pic.twitter.com/eI0Si8Q6QB

— ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2024

He added that he is a soldier of the party and will abide by the decision the committee takes.

Amethi, once a bastion for the Gandhi family, was won by the BJP in the 2019 elections. Speculation has been rife that Rahul Gandhi, who has already filed his nomination from Wayanad, will also contest from Amethi too.

The 53-year-old is expected to make an effort to win back the seat, represented earlier by his uncle Sanjay Gandhi, his father Rajiv Gandhi, and later, his mother Sonia Gandhi.

Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has also thrown his hat in the mix saying the people of Amethi want him to represent them and the decision to become a candidate in the Lok Sabha polls will be taken at the right time.

“They want me to represent them, go to their area, and listen to their problems so that they can progress. I am also interested in joining politics but the decision will be taken at the right time. There is no hurry right now,” he told reporters.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Smriti Irani unseated Rahul Gandhi, ending his 15-year reign in Amethi.

The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

Rahul Gandhi today claimed there is a strong undercurrent in favour of the opposition INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections and the BJP will be limited to 150 seats.

“15-20 days ago I was thinking BJP would win around 180 seats but now I think they will get 150 seats. We are getting reports from every state that we are improving,” he said.

Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by heavy rain and storm that has caused widespread flooding around the desert country.

The record rainfall has resulted in delayed or diverted flights, while cars have been left stranded on flooded roads.

Passengers have been warned not to come to Dubai airport, the world’s busiest by international traffic, “unless absolutely necessary”.

“Flights continue to be delayed and diverted. We are working hard to recover operations as quickly as possible in very challenging conditions,” a Dubai Airports spokesperson said.

Over 500 flights – both inbound and outbound – have been diverted, delayed or cancelled as the weather department predicts more rain and storms today. 

Authorities have cancelled about 15 flights bound for Dubai, while 13 flights to India have been cancelled.

Dubai’s flagship Emirates Airline said it is halting all check-ins for passengers for the day as bad weather in Dubai has caused a travel chaos. “Emirates is working hard to restore our scheduled operations, and our teams will provide all possible support to affected customers,” the airline said in the statement.

Flagship shopping centres Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both suffered flooding and water was ankle-deep at Metro stations. Officials said Metro trains are currently operating on specific routes as maintenance work is underway at stations on Red and Green lines.

The impact of the storm extended beyond Dubai, with the entire UAE and neighbouring Bahrain experiencing similar scenes of flooding and chaos.

Schools have been closed, and further storms, including hail, are forecasted for today, prompting authorities to extend remote working arrangements for government employees.

The storms and rain hit the UAE and Bahrain after lashing Oman, where 18 people were killed, including several children.

Official media said it was the highest rainfall since records began in 1949, before the formation of the UAE in 1971.

The country’s weather office “urged residents to take all the precautions and to stay away from areas of flooding and water accumulation”.

Both the Oman and the UAE, which hosted last year’s COP28 UN climate talks, have previously warned that global warming is likely to lead to more flooding.