KL Sharma, a Gandhi family loyalist and the Congress's Amethi candidate, has come out of the shadows after decades of managing the party's affairs from the background. He will be facing the BJP's Smriti Irani on the Amethi Lok Sabha seat on May 20 as the constituency goes to polls in the fifth phase. While he initially refused to comment on his candidature, he has now thanked the party leadership for nominating him.
On the BJP's claims of Rahul Gandhi "running away" to Raebareli fearing a loss in Amethi, KL Sharma said the Wayanad MP is fighting the entire nation's battle. "I want to thank Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for giving me the opportunity to contest from their traditional seat. I will work very hard...Rahul Gandhi is not someone who runs away from the ground. No one can predict anything (about votes). I will meet Priyanka Gandhi today," he told news agency ANI.
KL Sharma, who entered politics as a Youth Congress leader in 1983, has orchestrated every electoral win for Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia, barring the 1981 polls. "I have been serving the constituency for 40 years. I began my political career in Amethi in 1983. After that, the situation became such that I had to stay here."
In an X post, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said: "Our family has had a long association with Kishori Lal Sharma ji. He has always been dedicated to serving the people of Amethi and Raebareli. His passion for public service is an example in itself. Today it is a matter of joy that the Congress Party has made Kishori Lal ji a candidate from Amethi. Kishori Lal Ji's loyalty and dedication towards duty will definitely bring him success in this election."
Ending months of speculation, the Congress on Friday named Kishori Lal Sharma its candidate for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat. Immediately after the announcement, the BJP pounced on the fact that Rahul Gandhi, the last Congress MP to have held the Gandhi family bastion, had chosen to contest the Raebareli seat. Union minister Giriraj Singh said that Rahul Gandhi was running away from just like Bahadur Shah Zafar.