NEW DELHI : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is leading with 283615 votes from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and is set to retain the seat for the party.
Rae Bareli went to the polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20.
The BJP fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh against Rahul Gandhi while BSP fielded Thakur Prasad Yadav.
Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh was one of the hotly contested seats, as it has been the stronghold of the Gandhi family.
After representing Amethi from 2004 to 2019, Rahul Gandhi shifted to Rae Bareli this time. Raebareli is considered the Gandhi family bastion. Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress chief, won Raebareli last time in 2019.
As the counting of votes is underway in the southern state, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA and INDIA bloc comprising Samajwadi Party and Congress are fighting a close contest in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party is leading on 36 seats, BJP is leading on 33 seats and Congress is leading on seven seats.
Rahul Gandhi is also leading from Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 334535 votes, according to the Election Commission.
Rahul Gandhi is facing BJP leader K Surendran and CPI’s Annie Raja in the constituency.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA crossed the majority mark in early leads and the INDIA bloc above 200, defying all exit poll predictions.
Around 642 million people voted in Lok Sabha elections held over seven phases in a mammoth six-week period. The counting of votes began starting with postal ballot papers amid tight security.
The Lok Sabha elections were held across the country in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.
In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition’s UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52. (ANI)