Amethi:Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma pulled off a major upset by defeating Union Minister Smriti Irani from Amethi by a massive margin of over 1.67 lakh votes.
Sharma termed this a victory of the 'Gandhi family' and the people of Amethi. KL Sharma, a long associate of the Gandhi family was given the responsibility of winning back the party's once-held bastion.
"This is the victory of the Gandhi family and the people of Amethi...I didn't fight this election, the people of Amethi did," the Congress candidate said. "The Gandhi family gave me the ticket and bestowed a responsibility on me, and I think I am fulfilling their expectations."
According to the latest numbers by the Election Commission of India, KL Sharma defeated Irani by 1,67,196 votes. Sharma got 5,39,228 votes while Smriti Irani polled 3,72,032 votes.
Amethi was considered to be the bastion of the Gandhi family for several decades and hence the seat was politically important in the country. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, senior BJP leader and current Union Minister Smriti Irani emerged as the giant-killer and defeated former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. This time, the BJP again fielded Smriti Irani, while the Congress chose Sharma for the prestigious seat in Uttar Pradesh.
2024 polls:The total number of registered voters in the Amethi constituency in 2024 polls was 1796098 and the seat saw a voting turnout of 54.34% (976053 polled), according to the Election Commission’s data released on May 25, 2024. The seat went to polls in phase 5 on May 20, 2024.
In the 2019 LS Polls,Smriti Irani of the BJP won from Amethi polling 468514 votes comprising 49.71% of the total number of votes polled. Smriti Irani defeated Congress candidate Rahul Gandhi by a margin of 55,120 votes.
Rahul Gandhi had won from Amethi in the 2014 polls getting 408651 votes (46.72%) and defeating BJP's Smriti Irani, by a margin of 107903 votes.
