Will Smriti Irani Make UP’s Amethi A BJP Bastion? News18 Exit Poll Reveals Sentiment On Ground – News18

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Smriti Irani could be at an advantage in the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, where she is facing the Gandhi family’s trusted lieutenant Kishori Lal Sharma, exit polls suggest.

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Having worked largely in Raebareli, Sharma is seen as an outsider, picked at the last minute, as both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi refused to contest. The BJP, meanwhile, predicted a walkover for Irani from Amethi. She is seen as a local now in Amethi, having built a house in Gauriganj. Of the five assembly seats in Amethi, three are held by BJP and one SP MLA (from Gauriganj) Rakesh Kumar Singh has come out in favour of Irani. Amethi is now virtually a BJP fortress, and not a Gandhi bastion.

After the announcement, Irani, as well as senior BJP leaders, targeted the Congress, saying the Gandhis abandoned Amethi. After the Congress fielded Rahul Gandhi from the Raebareli seat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken a jibe at the opposition party, saying he had earlier predicted that the Gandhi scion would run away and look for a safe seat after polling in Wayanad is over.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to win 68-71 seats in Uttar Pradesh, according to News18 Mega Exit Poll prediction. The BJP may win 64-67 seats, according to the poll survey.

The Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is likely to win nine-12 seats, according to the survey. Of these, the Congress may win three-six, the survey states.

The News18 Poll Hub survey covered all 518 seats in 21 major states, which account for 95% of Lok Sabha constituencies in the country. Exit poll predictions are not foolproof given a large number of variable factors. The pollsters, however, had succeeded in gauging the trends in 2019 and 2014.