Elections 2019: Rahul Gandhi Trailing Behind Smriti Irani In Amethi

After an initial lead, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is trailing in the Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh as of 11:10 am. BJP’s Smriti Irani is giving Gandhi a tough fight, leading by around 2,500 votes.

Irani, in 2014, put up a credible fight, reducing Gandhi’s margin of victory from 3.70 lakh votes in 2009 to 1.07 lakh votes.

The Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party (SP-BSP) alliance have not fielded a candidate in Amethi.

In 2004, when Rahul Gandhi contested Amethi for the first time, he received 66% of the votes cast in the constituency. In 2014, his vote share was reduced to 46.71% while the BJP shot up to 34.48%.

Irani, who has mounted a vigorous campaign in 2019, has accused Rahul Gandhi of not spending enough time in Amethi.

Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, which is expected to be an easier contest for him than Amethi.  

His decision to run from Wayanad ticked off the Left Parties, which said that he was fighting the Left Democratic Front coalition instead of the BJP.

BJP president Amit Shah said that Gandhi was contesting a relatively safe second seat because he was afraid of losing from Amethi.

Congress insiders say that if Rahul Gandhi wins both seats, he might pull out of Amethi, which would lead to a by-poll that his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, is likely to contest.