Smriti Irani loses Amethi battle to Gandhi family loyalist KL Sharma

New Delhi/IBNS: Incumbent Union Minister Smriti Irani, who defeated Congress's Rahul Gandhi in his family bastion five years ago, tasted a crushing defeat this time in one of the key prestige battles in this Lok Sabha election. 

IBNS • 4 Jun 2024, 12:08 pm

Gandhi, meanwhile, won a record victory from Raebareli, where he chose to take up his mother Sonia Gandhi's mantle.

After the verdict, Irani thanked those who stood by her.

Such is life... A decade of my life going from one village to another, building lives, nurturing hope & aspirations, working on infrastructure ― roads, naali, khadanja, bypass, medical college and more.

To those who stood by me through loss and victory, I am forever grateful. To…
— Smriti Z Irani (Modi Ka Parivar) (@smritiirani) June 4, 2024

In April, Irani had scoffed at the prospect of facing Rahul Gandhi or his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, from Amethi, saying "whoever comes will be defeated surely".

While neither of them was her opponent this time, she lost to KL Sharma, a Gandhi family loyalist and also a first-time contestant.

Sharma won the battle in Amethi with more than 1.6 lakh votes over Irani, three times her margin over Gandhi in 2019.

He has already dedicated the coming victory to the Gandhis.