Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, who defeated Rahul Gandhi in 2019, is trailing in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi constituency by a margin of 1,20,461 votes in the Lok Sabha election.
Once the stronghold of the Gandhi family, Amethi went to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, with Irani handing a stunning defeat to Rahul Gandhi, who was then the Congress president.
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The BJP leader had secured a vote share of 49.71%, while Gandhi managed to get 43.86%. In 2014, as well, Smriti Irani had given a close scare to the Congress leader as her vote share was 34.39%, while Rahul Gandhi secured 46.72%.
Despite losing the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP leader continued to visit Amethi regularly to nurture the constituency. She even built a home in Mawai village, holding a house-warming ceremony on February 22 of this year.
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Despite facing defeat, Smriti Irani was made a cabinet minister by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was given the key human resource development portfolio. Later, she was shifted to the textiles ministry.
In an interview with NDTV, Irani had claimed that Rahul Gandhi, who had represented Amethi for three consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019, opted not to contest from the seat because it would have been challenging.
Before Rahul Gandhi was elected, his uncle Sanjay Gandhi, father Rajiv Gandhi, and mother Sonia Gandhi, among others, represented the Amethi Lok Sabha seat. The actor-turned-politician joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2003 and was appointed vice-president of the Maharashtra Youth Wing in 2004.
In the Lok Sabha elections held that year, she contested unsuccessfully against former Congress leader Kapil Sibal from the Chandni Chowk constituency in Delhi.
Amethi went to the polls in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections and recorded a voter turnout of 54.15%. The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking a consecutive third term at the Centre with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.