Amethi: In what could be termed as major development in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, it would be the first time in 25 years that a Gandhi family member will not contest the polls from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, which has been a citadel of Gandhis. 

Since its formation in 1967, the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency has been represented by a Gandhi family member for about 31 years, but not in a row. 

The Congress fortress was breached in the last general elections of 2019 when BJP heavyweight Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi in the electoral battle by over 50,000 votes. 

The Congress announced Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Rae Bareli, while Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of Sonia Gandhi, has been pitted against Irani in Amethi. 

Last time when Congress fielded a non-Gandhi member from the Amethi seat was in 1998, when Satish Sharma, a close aide of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi contested the elections but lost to the BJP. 

Routing the BJP candidate, Sonia Gandhi reclaimed the seat during the 1999 Lok Sabha polls with over 3 lakh votes. 

Handing over the Gandhi bastion to her son Rahul, she shifted to the adjacent Rae Bareli in 2004. Till this year, she served as MP for the seat. The seat was vacant earlier this year after her election to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. 

Rahul Gandhi won the Amethi seat for three consecutive terms- 2004, 2009 and 2014. He contest for the fourth time in 2019 when he was defeated by Smriti Irani.

Amethi is one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh which will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections.