Ending months of speculations by throwing a curveball, the Congress party on Friday fielded Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi, a party stronghold since the seat was formed in 1967, who will fight against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Smriti Irani from the Lok Sabha constituency.
Sharma is a close aide of the Gandhi family and has been associated with the party for over four decades.
He will file his Lok Sabha elections nomination from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi seat today as it is the last day for filing nominations for phase 5 election.
This is the first time in 25 years that Congress has fielded a person from outside the family from the constituency which had been the Gandhi family’s stronghold until 2019, when Congress stalwart Rahul Gandhi lost the general elections to BJP’s Smriti Irani.
Who is Kishori Lal Sharma?
Kishori Lal Sharma is a confidant of the Gandhi family. He had been Sonia Gandhi’s constituency representative in Raebareli. Sharma is the point-person in Raebareli and Amethi for all matters linked to the Gandhi family.
Originally from Ludhiana in Punjab, Kishori Lal Sharma stepped into Raebareli and Amethi with Rajiv Gandhi in 1983.
His ties with the Gandhi family became more familial after Rajiv Gandhi’s death in May 1991.
He paid frequent visits to the two constituencies and even accompanied Sonia Gandhi to Amethi when she entered politics and visited the constituency for the first time. He played a key role in Sonia Gandhi’s first electoral win in 1999.
It was believed Kishori Lal Sharma looked over the Amethi and Raebareli constituencies after Sonia Gandhi left the Amethi seat for Rahul Gandhi and contested from Raebareli.
KL Sharma has also worked for the Congress party in Bihar and Punjab.
Voting in Amethi and Rae Bareli will take place on May 20.