No one from the Gandhi family will be in a position to contest elections from Uttar Pradesh and the Congress party will face the consequences of opposing the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said on Monday.

The minister said the Congress had not only contested that the Babri Masjid was built after demolishing a temple in Ayodhya but is in alliance with a party that was responsible for firing at the Kar Sevaks.

“No one from the Gandhi family will be in a position to contest from Uttar Pradesh…not even the ones who contested and won. Jo Ram ka virodh karte the, aaj UP mein pav daal ne se dar rahe hai (those who used to oppose Ram are scared of stepping into UP),” the minister said.

Sonia Gandhi, elected from Rae Bareilly, is the only member of the Gandhi family who is a lawmaker from UP. In 2019 Rahul Gandhi lost the election from the family borough of Amethi but won from Wayand in Kerala.