The Congress has fielded party loyalist K L Sharma from Amethi for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sharma filed his papers at the collectorate, accompanied by local Congress leaders. Sharma's candidature from the Amethi seat was announced early Friday, the last day for filing of nomination for the polling slated in the fifth phase on May 20, ending days of speculation of any Gandhi family member contesting from the seat.
However, this seat did not have a Nehru-Gandhi candidate always. Amethi seat has, for the most part, been a Congress stronghold. In the 1971 general election, Vidya Dhar Bajpai was elected from this seat. In 1977, the seat went to Ravindra Pratap Singh from BLD. Vidya Dhar Bajpai had first contested from Amethi on Indian National Congress ticket in 1967. In 1996 Congress fielded Captain Satish Sharma who defeated BJP's Raja Mohan Singh. In 1998, Sanjay Singh was elected on a ticket from BJP.
However, this seat did not have a Nehru-Gandhi candidate always. Amethi seat has, for the most part, been a Congress stronghold. In the 1971 general election, Vidya Dhar Bajpai was elected from this seat. In 1977, the seat went to Ravindra Pratap Singh from BLD. Vidya Dhar Bajpai had first contested from Amethi on Indian National Congress ticket in 1967.
Captain Satish Sharma, was the last instance of a non-Gandhi family member being fielded from Amethi in 1998, Sharma, however, lost to BJP's Sanjaya Sinh. Before that, Sharma had emerged victorious against BJP's Raja Mohan Singh in the 1996 general elections.
In 1999, Sonia Gandhi contested and won the Amethi seat. Since 2004, the seat has been won by Rahul Gandhi. For the 2019 Lok Sabha election, BJP leader Smriti Irani wrestled the seat from Rahul Gandhi by more than a margin of around 55,000 votes.
BJP too had won twice
However, there have also been two leaders in the past 50 years who are not from Congress and have ruled Amethi — Sanjaya Sinh in 1998 and Smriti Irani in 2019. BJP had won the seat first in 1998, when its candidate Sanjaya Sinh alias Sanjay Singh, a former Congress leader, had registered the win. Sanjaya Sinh was the son of Raja Rananjay Singh.
The next big entrant of the BJP into the Congress bastion against Smriti Irani in 2014 against Rahul Gandhi but lost by approximately 1 lakh votes. However, in 2019 the tables turned and she registered a thumping victory by a margin of approximately 55000 votes.
