Biggest upsets in the making in 2019 elections: VIPs who are trailing

As the BJP is heading for a historic win in the Lok Sabha polls, the spotlight is on the heavyweight battles across the country as any possible upset on VIP seats will have great political repercussions.

NEW DELHI: As the BJP is heading for a historic win in the Lok Sabha polls, the spotlight is on the heavyweight battles across the country as any possible upset on VIP seats will have great political repercussions. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah were cruising towards victories in Varanasi and Gandhinagar seats, Congress President Rahul Gandhi was trailing behind Union Minister Smriti Irani by over 19,000 votes in Amethi. Here’s a look at VIP candidates who’re trailing Gazipur: Manoj Sinha- BJP (trailing) Amethi: Rahul Gandhi- Congress (trailing) Muzaffarnagar: Ajit Singh- RLD (trailing) Baghpat: Jayant Chaudhary- RLD (trailing) Kannauj: Dimple Yadav- SP (Trailing) Madhepura: Sharad Yadav- RJD (trailing) Patna Sahib: Shatrughan Sinha-Congress (trailing) Mumbai North: Urmila Matondkar - Conress (trailing) Mumbai North West: Sanjay Nirupam- Congress (trailing) Mumbai North Central: Priya Dutt- Congress (trailing) Sonipat: Bhupinder Singh Hooda- Congress (trailing) Jodhpur: Vaibhav Gehlot- Congress (trailing) Guna: Joyotiraditya Scindia- Congress (trailing) North East Delhi: Sheila Dixit- Congress (trailing) Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar: Harish Rawat- Congress (trailing) Narendra Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, national security and Hindu pride struck a chord among voters across large swathes of India. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP was expected to surpass its 2014 performance. It was leading in 296 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck at 51 seats, according to the trends. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will likely end up with around 350 seats, up from 336 in 2014. The BJP, which is now tantalisingly over 300 mark in Lok Sabha, had alone won 282 seats in the last election.