Union minister and BJP MP Smriti Irani is faced defeat by a huge margin to Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi. Sharma, termed this a victory of the 'Gandhi family' and the people of Amethi.
KL Sharma, the 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...the counting is still taking place, so I won't call it a victory now," Sharma told ANI.
"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."
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra congratulated INC’s Kishori Lal after the veteran politician took a major lead against BJP’s Smriti Irani.
“Kishori bhaiya, I never had any doubts, I was sure from the beginning that you will win. Hearty congratulations to you and my dear brothers and sisters of Amethi!” she wrote on X, formally known as Twitter.
KL Sharma has got 3,97,538 votes and Smriti Irani has got 2,79,067. In 2019, Smriti Irani won the seat of Amethi by defeating Rahul Gandhi by a margin of over 55,000 votes.
In the state of Uttar Pradesh, BJP is leading on 35 seats, while the INDIA bloc, of Samajwadi Party and Congress, has won 34 and 7 seats respectively. The Congress is leading on the seats of Amethi, Rae Bareli, Amroha, Saharanpur, Sitapur, Allahabad and Barabanki.
Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from the other party bastion of Rae Bareli is leading by a huge margin of 3,85,501 votes. He is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala and leading by a margin of 3,59,170 votes.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA crossed the majority mark in early leads and the INDIA bloc above 200, defying all exit poll predictions. As per the Election Commission data, the NDA alliance is leading on around 300 seats while the INDIA bloc is at 230 seats.