Rahul Gandhi Trails In Amethi Against BJP’s Smriti Irani
In a big development, according to initial trends, Congress President Rahul Gandhi was trailing against his rival, Smriti Irani of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in his backyard Amethi. Gandhi is fighting from two seats, the other being Wayanad in Kerala. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken an early lead in the counting of votes for the 17th Lok Sabha elections that ended May 19. Of the 187 seats for which trends are available, the party is ahead in 107 seats. The Congress is leading in 23 seats. BJP seemed to be holding off the much-feared Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh while making smart gains in West Bengal and Odisha. Counting for votes started at 8 AM. The bitterly-fought seven-phase exercise stretched over 39 days and saw the highest-ever turnout for an election at 67.1%. According to exit polls released Sunday, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to get anywhere between 242 and 365 seats.
