Six Union Ministers, including Smriti Irani, staring at defeat in UP

Lucknow, June 4 (IANS) In a major upset for the BJP, six Union Ministers are staring at defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Union Minister Smriti Irani is set to lose Amethi, where she is trailing against Kishori Lal Sharma of the Congress by over 1.45 lakh votes. The shock results were most unexpected since the minister and her campaigners considered Sharma a ‘small fry’.

Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra Teni, also stares at defeat in Kheri where Utkarsh Varma of the Samajwadi Party has extended his lead to more than 33,000 votes.

Ajay Mishra hit the headlines in October 2021 when a vehicle allegedly belonging to the Union Minister mowed down four farmers while they had gathered to protest against the now-repealed farm laws. His son Ashish is the main accused in the case.

The BJP backed the junior Home Minister despite resentment against the minister over the case.

Another Union Minister, Kaushal Kishore, is also heading for a defeat in Mohanlalganj, where R.K. Chaudhary of the Samajwadi Party is leading by over 84,000 votes.

In Chandauli, Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey is trailing against Virendra Singh of the Samajwadi Party by over 22,000 votes.

Union Minister, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, is also staring at defeat in Fatehpur, where Samajwadi Party's Naresh Uttam Patel has taken a decisive lead of over 26,000 votes.