Union minister and BJP MP Smriti Irani, who is seeking re-election from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, conceded defeat to Congress loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma and said she will continue to serve the people of the constituency. Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul Gandhi from the Congress bastion in the 2019 elections, is trailing by a huge margin of over one lakh votes to Congress loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “I express my gratitude to all the BJP party workers and supporters who have worked with full dedication and devotion in serving the constituency and the party.” Irani said, “I congratulate the winners. I will continue to serve the people of Amethi.”
Irani said, “Today I am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that their governments have completed 30 years of pending work in just 5 years.” Earlier in the day, Kishori Lal Sharma spoke to India Today and attributed his success to the support of the Gandhi family and the opposition-led India Bloc.
Sharma said “I got the support of the Gandhi family and India Block. I want to give credit to the Gandhi family. Amethi is Gandhi’s land. Humility, not arrogance, will work in Amethi. All credit for this important result goes to Priyanka Gandhi. Even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra congratulated Sharma as he headed towards victory in the Gandhi family bastion. She said she was sure from the beginning that he would win.
Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X (formerly known as Twitter) “Kishori Bhaiya, I never had any doubts, I was sure from the beginning that you will win. Heartiest congratulations to you and my dear brothers and sisters of Amethi!” Exit polls had predicted a tough contest between Irani and Gandhi loyalist Sharma in the high-profile seat.
Amethi, a Congress bastion for years, gave a big mandate in 2019 when Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi. This year, the Congress kept the suspense on its Amethi candidate till the last moment until it surprised everyone by fielding Kishori Lal Sharma. The Congress’ “no Gandhi from Amethi” move invited endless criticism from the BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying that the Congress leader has fled from Amethi fearing defeat. It is noteworthy that Priyanka Gandhi had camped in Congress’ family strongholds Rae Bareli and Amethi for about two weeks and campaigned extensively for Sharma and her brother Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Rae Bareli and is also on the verge of a big victory.
Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Rae Bareli seat for the first time, is now leading by 2,27,535 votes over his nearest rival Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP. According to the latest trends, the opposition-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance is leading in 44 seats in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Congress ignored the politics of the state and instead focused on social justice, youth, unemployment, paper leaks, caste census and economy.
