Amethi Lok Sabha Constituency: Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh covers the entire Amethi district and is comprised of five Vidhan Sabha constituencies, including Tiloi, Salon, Jagdishpur, Gauriganj and Amethi. A number of Gandhi family members have been elected to the lower house of the Parliament from this seat. Since its inception, the Amethi Lok Sabha seat has been a stronghold of Congress and the Gandhi family, as Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have all entered the Lok Sabha from this seat. Congress has won 13 of the 16 Lok Sabha elections from this seat (Including two by-polls). Rahul Gandhi was the last Gandhi family member to win this seat. He held this seat from 2004 till 2019 when he suffered a close defeat at the hands of BJP’s Smriti Irani by a margin of 55,000 votes. For the 18th General election, Amethi Lok Sabha will go under polling in phase 5 on Monday, May 20, 2024. BJP has once again fielded their sitting MP, Smriti Irani, but for the first time after 1999, the seat will be represented by a non-Gandhi family member, as Congress announced K.L Sharma as their candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha. Nanhe Singh Chauhan will be presenting the challenge in Amethi from BSP. Smriti Irani (BJP) After producing a historic win against Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 General Elections, Smriti Irani established herself as one of the prominent faces in the Narendra Modi-led central government. In the 2024 Lok Sabha, the BJP has dropped a number of their sitting MPs. However, no one was surprised when the BJP announced their sitting MP, Smriti Irani, as their candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. Notably, Smriti also contested in the 2014 General Elections against Rahul Gandhi but eventually fell short and ended up in the second spot after Rahul Gandhi. KL Sharma (INC) Despite Rahul Gandhi facing defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the speculation of him contesting once again from Amethi was going around the town. However, ending that announcement, Congress announced Kishori Lal Sharma, a.k.a. KL Sharma, as their candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha, as Rahul Gandhi shifted to Raebareli. KL Sharma has been an instrumental figure in INC’s set-up since 1983 and was one of the main forces behind Sonia Gandhi’s maiden triumph from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in 1999. Nanhe Singh Chauhan (BSP) On April 28, 2024, BSP announced Ravi Prakash Maurya as their Lok Sabha Candidate from Amethi. However, within 24 hours, they changed it and instead gave the ticket to Nanhe Singh Chauhan. Nanhe Singh Chauhan’s OBC Nonia community background can be the main reason behind his candidature, as the community has over 1.5 lakh active voters in the Amethi Lok Sabha Constituency.
