Several posters have been circulating on social media saying Amethi “wants” Robert Vadra since Priyanka Gandhi’s husband claimed on Thursday that the people of the constituency hoped he would become their MP.

The posters carry Vadra’s picture and have been created purportedly by the “Rahul-Priyanka Gandhi Sena”, a little-known group. Speaking off the record, Congress sources sought to distance the party from the posters and Vadra’s comment.

One of the posters read: “Jan-jan ke man ka bhav, Amethi mange badlav. Robert Vadraji bane badlav ka chehra (The people of Amethi want change. Robert Vadra may become the face of that change).”

Another said: “Jab Robert Vadra Amethi se sansad banenge, janta ki takdeer badlegi, ab Amethi ki tasveer badlegi (When Robert Vadra becomes MP from Amethi, the people’s fate and the face of Amethi will change).”

On Thursday, Vadra had told reporters in Delhi: “The people of Amethi are annoyed with their current MP. They feel they committed a mistake (by electing Smriti Irani of the BJP).”

He had added: “The Gandhi family worked hard in the area and developed it. I would reiterate that if the people of Amethi are feeling that they committed a mistake by voting for Smritiji, and Rahul was forced to look for another seat (Wayanad).... They again want a member of the Gandhi family to return (to Amethi) and they will ensure their victory with a huge vote margin. They are looking towards me also and hope that I take my first step in politics and represent Amethi as MP.”

On Friday, some Amethi residents contested Vadra’s remarks.

“Nobody knows Robert Vadra here. The Congress is already in trouble in Amethi and Vadra will finish it by displaying his out-of-place political ambition,” a young man, Jay Kumar Singh, told The Telegraph.

“Vadra is a big zero here. We know Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka…. Robert must stop harming the family.”

Political commentator Sudheendra Kulkarni wrote on X: “If Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi care for the future of the Congress; they should ask this man (Vadra) to keep his mouth shut about the political ambition. If they don’t, it means they don’t know the mood of the people — and the main reason for the party’s decline.”

Vadra had earlier too spoken of his political ambitions. Speaking to reporters in Amethi in June 2008, he had said: “I may join politics if the people want me to.”

However, asked whether he wanted to join politics during an interview with a TV channel a few months later, Vadra said: “I think the time comes for everybody. I would be there with one or the other responsibility the day I feel that I should represent the people.”