The BJP-led NDA’s 293-seat win and the opposition INDIA bloc’s significant gain of 232 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections came as a huge surprise for many pundits and pollsters. Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi is almost guaranteed a third term and an NDA government, the current government will not have an easy start.
Several prominent candidates also lost the elections, disappointing the party’s high command big time. Here is a list of a few of them:
1. Smriti Irani:
Her loss in Amethi was one of the most notable ones. Irani, who was recognised for defeating Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019, suffered a 1,67,196-vote defeat against Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma. With this loss, an era came to an end in Amethi, which, under Irani’s leadership, had temporarily served as a BJP stronghold.
2. Ajay Mishra Teni:
The Samajwadi Party’s Utkarsh Verma defeated the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, who was involved in the contentious Lakhimpur Kheri incident, by a margin of more than 34,329 votes.
3. Arjun Munda:
Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda defeated the Union Tribal Affairs Minister by a staggering 1,49,675 votes in the Khunti constituency of Jharkhand.
4. Kailash Choudhary:
Congress leader Ummeda Ram Beniwal was victorious in Barmer, Rajasthan, with a 4.48 lakh vote margin, following the state minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Kailash Choudhary, in third spot.
5. Rajeev Chandrasekhar:
The Congress stalwart Shashi Tharoor defeated Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, by a margin of more than 16,077 votes.
6. Maneka Gandhi:
BJP’s Maneka Gandhi loses the Sultanpur seat to the Samajwadi Party’s Rambhual Nishad by a margin of 43,174 votes.
7. Prajwal Revanna:
The NDA candidate from Hassan, Karnataka, Prajwal Revanna, who is involved in a sex assault case; lost by 42,649 votes. Shreyas M. Patel of Congress was the winner in the constituency. Prajwal secured 6,30,339 votes, while Patel got 6,72,988.
8. Navneed Rana:
Congress leader Balwant Wankhede defeated sitting MP and BJP candidate Navneet Rana from the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 19,731 votes.
9. Amit Chavda:
BJP candidate Mitesh Patel defeated Congress candidate Amit Chavda for the Anand Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 89,939 votes.
10. Chaitar Vasava:
BJP leader Mansukh Vasava defeated the Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate, Chaitar Vasava, from the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 85,696 votes.
Also Read: How BJP Lost The Plot In Its Eldorado UP?
