Top contests of 2014: Rahul Gandhi vs Kumar Vishwas vs Smriti Irani

Amethi, March 14: Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP)

and BJP's Smriti Irani will take on Congress's

from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. This seat is known to be a stronghold of the Gandhi family. Irani was a much late entrant to the contest.

2009 election: Rahul Gandhi beat BSP's Asheesh Shukla by 3,70,198 votes.

Amethi will go to the election on May 7.

[Read: Top contests of 2014]

The scion of the Gandhi family which has given India three prime ministers since independence, Rahul Gandhi first contested the Lok Sabha election in 2004 from Amethi which was the former constituency of his later father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

It will be a gigantic task for Kumar Vishwas to defeat 2-time MP Rahul Gandhi

In 2004, Rahul Gandhi defeated the Bahujan Samaj Party's Chandra Prakash Mishra Matiyari by 2.9 lakh votes. In 2009 also Rahul Gandhi won by over 3.7 lakh votes, beating the BSP's Asheesh Shukla. This time, Rahul Gandhi is going to the polls as a more active and involved leader of the Congress but the predictions on poor results by his party will be a major challenge for him.

About Kumar Vishwas (AAP)

A poet-professor, Kumar Vishwas had joined Anna Hazare's anti-corruption agitation in 2011 and later joined the AAP. He is a member of the AAP's national executive. Vishwas has found himself amid controversy quite often by making derogatory remarks or by allegedly raising illegal cash donations. The man from Uttar Pradesh has openly challenged Rahul Gandhi ahead of the big election and is confident of authoring a massive upset.

About Smriti Irani (BJP)

Smriti Irani, the national vice-president of the BJP, is currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat (since 2011). The actor-politician had contested the Lok Sabha election from Chandni Chowk in Delhi in 2004 but lost to Kapil Sibal of the Congress. In 2010, Irani was elevated as a BJP national secretary and also national president of the BJP's Mahila Morcha.

Analysis: Both Smriti Irani and Kumar Vishwas have vowed to defeat Rahul Gandhi (besides of course, each other) but the fact is they might end up dividing the anti-Congress votes in this Gandhi stronghold and pave way for Rahul Gandhi's hat-trick.

OneIndia News