In the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, several well-known political leaders suffered crushing defeats despite their enormous public appeal and powerful political presence. These 10 well-known politicians were extremely shocked and disastrously defeated:
Smiriti Irani: BJP candidate Smriti Irani lost the Amethi seat to Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma by 1,67,196 votes. Irani, who is currently the Minister of Women and Child Development and Minister of Minority Affairs, had earlier secured the Congress stronghold by defeating Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 elections.
Prajwal Revanna: Prajwal Revanna lost the Hassan Lok Sabha seat. Prajwal lost to Shreyas Patel of the Congress by 40,000 votes. This has helped the Congress win the Hassan seat after 25 years. Prajwal is the third youngest Member of Parliament in India, who served as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha from the Hassan constituency.
Omar Abdullah: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah faced a serious defeat in North Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency as independent candidate Engineer Rashid surged ahead with a lead of over 100,000 votes even though he has been in jail since 2019 in a money laundering case linked to terror financing. His 23-year-old son Abrar Rashid led his campaign and received considerable support.
Mehbooba Mufti: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti faced defeat and conceded defeat against Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Mian Altaf from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. The margin of defeat was huge as the former Chief Minister lost by 2,36,730 votes. Mufti was the former Chief Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2016 to 2019.
Naveen Patnaik: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday lost the Kantabanji seat to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Laxman Bagh. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Patnaik suffered a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls from the Kantabanji seat. This is the first time Naveen Patnaik has faced electoral defeat. Since 1998, he has won every election.
Jagan Mohan Reddy: Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy-led ruling Yuvajana Sramika Raithu Congress Party (YSRCP) in the southern state suffered a crushing defeat against TDP supremo and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s opposition and accepting the defeat, he said his party will now become the “voice of the voiceless”.
Kanhaiya Kumar: Congress leader and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar suffered a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls from the North East Delhi constituency. According to the Election Commission, BJP’s Manoj Tiwari defeated Congress’ Kanhaiya Kumar by more than 1.38 lakh votes in the North-East Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Mr Tiwari, the only candidate re-elected by the party, won this important seat for a record third time.
Digvijaya Singh: All 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh have gone to the BJP’s account. Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh was seen giving clarifications and apologizing from the very first day in the election field. BJP’s Rodmal Nagar defeated him by 146089 votes from Rajgarh. With 758743 votes, Rodmal Nagar won, and Digvijay got 612654.
The 2024 elections proved to be challenging for many prominent political figures. These defeats have brought about significant changes in the landscape of Indian politics, which can be seen in the upcoming time.
