Rahul Gandhi, the prominent Congress leader, is on track for a monumental victory in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli constituency. As per the Election Commission data at 3:15 pm, Gandhi is leading his nearest competitor, BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh, by an impressive margin of over 3 lakh votes. This margin currently stands as the highest in Uttar Pradesh.
Comparative lead in Varanasi
In a notable contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading in Varanasi by over 1.4 lakh votes against Congress' Ajay Rai. This further highlighted the substantial gap in Gandhi's Rae Bareli victory margin.
Sonia Gandhi's legacy in Rae Bareli
Sonia Gandhi, who represented Rae Bareli since 2004, won the seat in 2019 by a margin of 1.67 lakh votes against Mr. Singh. Opting out of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in favor of the Rajya Sabha, she paved the way for Rahul Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli.
Rahul Gandhi's dual contests
Having represented Amethi from 2004 to 2019, Rahul Gandhi lost the seat to BJP's Smriti Irani in the last elections but retained his MP status by winning in Kerala. This election, he is contesting from both Rae Bareli and Wayanad, leading in both constituencies. In Wayanad, his lead over CPM's Annie Raja exceeds 3 lakh votes.
Congress' prospects in Amethi
The Congress is also eyeing a significant comeback in Amethi, with Smriti Irani trailing behind Congress candidate Kishori Lal by over 90,000 votes.
National trends
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is currently ahead in 291 seats compared to the opposition INDIA bloc's 233 seats. In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance is notably ahead of the BJP, showcasing unexpected twists in the state's political landscape.
Also read | Priyanka Gandhi Vadra congratulates Kishori Lal for good show in Amethi says 'I never had doubts'
