Amethi debates if it will be Smriti this time

Press Trust of India  |  Amethi (UP) 

It is barely 7 am as the train chugs into the railway station, in Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency.

An animated discussion is on among the rickshawpullers outside the station on the possible election result here.

Some porters sipping tea outside the main station place a friendly bet on the outcome for the seat, which till now was considered a bastion of the Gandhi family.

But this time even hardcore loyalists have felt the heat of the aggressive campaigning by the BJP for its candidate,

A few hours later, counting trends released by the showed Irani actually ahead of Gandhi.

has remained the citadel of the Congress, but this time round, BJP's is giving Rahul a run for his money," supporters of Jais tells

Though Dubey is confident of Rahul Gandhi's win, he feels the victory margin will come down, considering the all-out electioneering by the ruling party here.

BJP supporter Shiv Pujan Pandey says will break into the as she has proved her dedication to the constituency, keeping in touch with the people even after losing in 2014.

Local student Anjali feels that though the campaign was loud, Amethi's voters have largely kept their views to themselves.

She says though Gandhi remained busy elsewhere during the campaign, his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, filled in the gap.

Priyanka Gandhi is equally important for the voters here, she feels.

Congress says the Gandhis' legacy and the constituency's personal relationship with the family matter in

"The Gandhi family is directly associated with the constituency, and for the people here it is sort of an extension of their family," he says.

He feels sure of the result.

But so do some BJP workers gathered outside the district magistrate's office.

"The Congress is the laapata (missing) Smriti 'didi' is all set to wrest the seat," says Arun Singh, a BJP

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Thu, May 23 2019. 12:16 IST