In a major upset, close confidant of the Nehru-Gandhi family and Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma defeated Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Smriti Irani by a huge margin of 1,67,196 votes in the Amethi seat on Tuesday.
According to the data from the Election Commission, while 5,39,228 votes were polled in favor of Sharma, a sitting MP from a high-profile seat in Iran received 3,72,032 votes. Nanhe Lal Chauhan of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), who received 34,534 votes, was placed third.
It may be noted that Amerthi witnessed high-pitched campaigning during which, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a rally in favor of the BJP candidate, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi made an emotional appeal to the public and sought votes for KL Sharma.
The result is a shocker for the BJP, as in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Irani defeated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi by a margin of more than 50,000 votes. In fact, this time the party was confident of repeating its feat.
Congress, which played safe this time, declared KL Sahrma's candidature on the last day of the nomination. Brought into politics by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he has been associated with the Gandhi family for almost 40 years. (UNI)<>