London: Irelandu2019s Indian- origin Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has suffered a huge setback in the general election as his liberal- conservative Fine Gael party took a battering in the face of an unprecedented surge in the fortunes of the nationalist party Sinn Fein.

As the poll results poured in overnight on Sunday, Varadkaru2019s party was pushed down to the third place with Sinn Fein in the lead, followed by conservative Fianna Fail in second place.