Amethi Lok Sabha Result: After months of intense campaigning, challenging the Opposition, levelling accusations, and taking confident strides, Union Minister Smriti Irani has lost the Amethi seat to Congress’s Kishori Lal Sharma. The firebrand BJP leader lost the seat by over 1.5 lakh votes.
Conceding defeat, Smriti Irani said: “Congratulations to those who have won the elections today. Hope they will work for the people in the same way as we have heard their problems. I express my gratitude to Modiji and Yogiji and thank all BJP workers.”
Smriti Irani, who had challenged Rahul Gandhi to face her, got a surprise when Congress decided to field a debutant, KL Sharma, against her.
The Congress pulled off a strategic gamble by moving Rahul Gandhi from his traditional seat to Sonia Gandhi’s bastion Raebareli. Irani had then said that Rahul Gandhi was “running away”.
KL Sharma facilitated the entry of Sonia Gandhi into politics after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani wrested the Amethi seat from former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who had been a three-time MP from the constituency.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Amethi bucked the nationwide BJP wave and handed Rahul Gandhi a victory against Smriti Irani. Rahul Gandhi won by a margin of 1,07,903 votes.
Kishori Lal Sharma’s Ground Connect Helps Congress Reclaim Bastion
Kishori Lal Sharma has a strong connection with the residents of Amethi. His built his ground over the years while managing the affairs of the Congress and Sonia Gandhi after she became an MP. He handled the management of the Congress campaigns in Amethi and Raebareli. This made him quite popular among the locals.
News agency IANS had earlier reported that Kishori Lal Sharma was well aware of the caste dynamics of Amethi, which gave him an edge as he went to the elections. Amethi has a large Dalits population (26%), followed by Muslims (20%), and Brahmins (18%). The Congress brought him out of the shadows as a dark horse to employ his strategy and leverage these caste equations to his advantage against Smriti Irani.
