Kishori Lal Sharma, the Congress’ newly elected Member of Parliament from a high profile seat of Amethi regarded his victory as the public’s victory.
Speaking with ANI, the newly elected MP said, “I have won this seat and this is the victory of the public.”
Responding to Smriti Irani’s remarks that ‘Josh is still high’, Sharma said, “Winning and losing always goes on as if we are contesting elections on the same seat, one has to win while the other will face defeat. If someone says that their enthusiasm is still high, even after the defeat, it is a good thing.”
He further said, “People have voted on the issues of unemployment, farmers’ income, inflation, etc. They have chosen me as their MP, I will work towards their welfare.”
On Wednesday morning, while returning to Amethi, Sharma conveyed, “I came here to submit Rahul Gandhi’s winning certificate and I had to take blessings of Sonia Gandhi Ji.
He added further, “Senior leaders of the party asked me to stay humble, just as I am. They guided me to be respectful towards everyone. Just because I have become MP, I should not be egoist about it.
“Asserting that he would work for everyone, irrespective of whether people voted for him or not, Sharma said, “I am everyone’s MP and I will work for everyone. When one wins, then responsibilities also fall on one’s shoulders. And I will fulfill that responsibility. When I will work together with the people, I will be successful. I will listen to what they want and I will never make any plans without involving the people of Amethi.”
KL Sharma’s victory over Smriti Irani by a substantial margin of 1,67,196 votes is noteworthy. Sharma garnered 5,39,228 votes while Irani secured 3,72,032 votes.
In the aftermath of the 18th Lok Sabha election, the BJP-led NDA clinched 294 seats, while the INDIA bloc secured 234 seats in the 543-member Parliament. To form a government, a party or coalition must attain a simple majority of 272 seats.
As per the Election Commission of India’s report, the BJP won 240 seats, significantly lower than its 2019 tally of 303 seats. Conversely, the Congress experienced a notable resurgence, securing victory in 99 seats.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a third term, the BJP is now reliant on the support of other parties within his coalition, such as JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP’s chief Chandrababu Naidu, as it falls short of the 272 majority mark by 32 seats.
This marks the first instance since the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ascendancy to power in 2014 that it failed to secure a majority on its own, attaining far fewer seats than the record-breaking 303 it achieved in the 2019 election.