Amethi's new giant killer: Gandhi loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma defeats BJP's Smriti Irani

NEW DELHI: In 2014, Smriti Irani was the giant killer of Lok Sabha elections and made national headlines after defeating Rahul Gandhi in the Congress bastion of Amethi. Five years later, the constituency has a new giant killer - Kishori Lal Sharma, a Congressman who has worked closely with the Gandhi family for decades. K L Sharma has scripted one of the biggest upsets of 2024 Lok Sabha elections by defeating BJP's high-profile leader and Amethi's sitting MP Smriti Irani by a margin of 1,66,000 votes.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who spearheaded the party's campaign in both Amethi and Raebareli, congratulated Kishori Lal Sharma and said she was sure from the beginning that he would win. "Kishori bhaiya, I never had any doubts, I was sure from the beginning that you would win. Hearty congratulations to you and my dear brothers and sisters of Amethi!" Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

Priyanka had camped in Rae Bareli and Amethi for about two weeks and campaigned extensively for Sharma and her brother Rahul Gandhi, who has scored a comprehensive victory from Rae Bareli.
For Smriti Irani, the defeat in Amethi comes as a rude shock. In the last ten years, she has been an integral part of the Modi government, holding several key ministries. Smriti was so confident of her prospects that she had openly dared Rahul to contest from Amethi. However, Rahul did not fall for the challenge and instead chose to contest from Raebareli which was vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi. The former Congress president has won from Amethi with a margin of over 2 lakh votes.
Smriti congratulated the winners and said she will continue to work for Amethi. "I visited each and every village of Amethi and worked very sincerely for the constituency," Smriti said as she conceded defeat.