It’s not Bharatiya Janata Party’s Smriti Irani vs Congress’s KL Sharma, but 10 years of diligent hard work vs 40 years of loyalty in Uttar Pradesh’s Lok Sabha hot seat Amethi, which would see polling on May 20 in the fifth phase of the ongoing general elections. News18 visited Amethi, one of the erstwhile strongholds of the Congress, to feel the pulse of the people. Many of them lauded Irani’s hard work and how she has stayed in touch with locals in the last 10 years, while others feel that Sharma’s loyalty will pay off. Some also cited unemployment and inflation as major poll issues while others said that the Congress will give a tough fight to the BJP.
Many residents said that in the last 10 years, Amethi, one of the prime parliamentary seats of UP, has witnessed massive development work. “Be it the long-awaited project of bypasses, expressways, or providing medical facilities at the hospital, Smriti Didi ensured it all in the last 10 years. I must say that the development which Amethi saw in the last 10 years hadn’t been witnessed in the previous three decades,” said Pramod Sharma, a resident of Jagdishpur locality of Amethi.
People also praised the union minister and incumbent MP for lending an ear to the problems of locals. “Despite losing the polls to Rahul Gandhi in 2014, she was one person who still used to visit the constituency and continued to work for the people of Amethi. And this was the sole reason why the people of Amethi voted her to power in 2019. I am sure that people will choose her again in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” said Neha Singh, another Amethi resident.
Some people also slammed Rahul Gandhi for carrying out almost no development work during his 15-year reign as the area MP, from 2004 to 2014. Besides, some also said that the Gandhi-Nehru family hardly addresses the problems of the people compared to BJP’s Smriti Irani.
There were others who said that the people of Amethi listen to their hearts when it comes to polls and the Gandhi-Nehru family is in their hearts. “It hardly matters if it is KL Sharma or someone else, what matters is the party. Our vote will go to the party and the people of Amethi will vote the Congress to power this time,” said Manoj Mishra, a resident of the Tiwaripur area in Amethi. Another local said that KL Sharma might not be from the Gandhi family but he is very familiar with Amethi and has devoted 40 years to the area. “The people of Amethi know Sharma ji well. I am sure they will consider his candidature and will vote him to power,” said Surendra Agrahari, another Amethi resident.
Amethi, established as a constituency in 1967, was originally named Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar before being renamed. It had long been a stronghold of the Congress, represented by key figures of the Nehru-Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi. The first election saw Congress’s Vidyadhar Bajpai become the MP. From 1971 to 1977, Janata Party’s Ravindra Pratap Singh held the seat, before Sanjay Gandhi of Congress won in 1980. After Sanjay’s death in 1981, Rajiv Gandhi won the by-election, continuing the Gandhi family legacy in Amethi.
In the 2019 general election, in a stunning upset, Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated Rahul Gandhi, marking a significant shift in the constituency’s political landscape. Irani won with 4,68,514 votes against Gandhi’s 4,13,394, with NOTA (None of the Above) receiving 3,940 votes. This victory was notable due to the margin of over 55,000 votes, showcasing a major shift from the previous election. In 2014, Rahul Gandhi secured the seat with 4,08,651 votes, while Irani received 3,00,748 votes. Other notable candidates included Dharmendra Pratap Singh of the BSP with 57,716 votes and Dr Kumar Vishwas of AAP with 25,527 votes.
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