Amethi Lok Sabha Results 2024 live: Incumbent BJP MP Smriti Irani is trailing by 75,117 votes against Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma in the contest for Amethi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Although Smriti Irani initially took the lead, after about six-seven hours of vote counting, Congress party candidate Kishori Lal Sharma took the lead in the VIP Amethi Lok Sabha seat.
Amethi, once considered a stronghold of the Congress party and an impenetrable fort, could not withstand the BJP wave in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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In the 2019 elections, Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani won the Amethi seat by defeating former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who had been a long-time MP from this constituency.
Smriti Irani's victory marked a significant shift in this traditional Congress bastion.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, despite the nationwide BJP wave, incumbent MP Rahul Gandhi managed to defeat BJP candidate Smriti Irani. When the election results were announced, Rahul Gandhi received 4,08,651 votes, securing a 46.71% vote share, while Smriti Irani garnered 3,00,748 votes, with a 34.38% vote share.
Kishori Lal Sharma, a popular face among locals
Ever since former Congress President Sonia Gandhi became MP, Kishori Lal Sharma has been responsible for handling and overseeing ground work in Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, making him well-known among locals.
According to a report by news agency IANS, Kishori Lal Sharma aligns well with the caste dynamics of the region. Amethi is predominantly composed of Dalits (26 percent), Muslims (20 percent), and Brahmins (18 percent). The Congress party believes that KL Sharma can leverage these caste equations to his advantage.
Talking about history of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India after winning the election from this constituency in 1984.
Following him, former Congress President Sonia Gandhi was elected MP from Amethi in 1999. From 2004 until 2019, Rahul Gandhi was consistently elected as the MP from Amethi.
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