After Congress' KL Sharma defeated Bhartiya Janta Party's Smriti Irani in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, the newly elected party MP asserted that the senior leaders of the party have asked him to stay humble and not fill himself with ego after becoming an MP.
Speaking with ANI after leaving from 10 Janpath -- the residence of Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi -- KL Sharma said, "I had brought with me Rahul Gandhi's winning certificate and sought Madam's (Sonia Gandhi's) blessings. Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and KC Venugopal were also there."
He added further, "They asked me to stay humble, just as I am. I should not be filled with ego just because I became an MP. This is what they asked of me and I will follow their instructions." 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 fulfil 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."
Notably, KL Sharma defeated Smriti Irani with a margin of 1,67,196 votes. Sharma secured 5,39,228 votes while Irani garnered 3,72,032 votes. Declaration of results of the 18th Lok Sabha election in the 543-member Parliament saw the BJP-led NDA winning 294 seats and the INDIA bloc bagging 234 seats. A party or coalition requires a simple majority of 272 seats to form the government.
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According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP is relying on the support of other parties in his coalition - JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP's chief Chandrababu Naidu, as it needs 32 seats to reach the 272 majority mark.
For the first time, since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own -- far fewer than the record 303 it won in the 2019 election.