Congress leader Kishori Lal Sharma.
Credit: X/@mustafa_mustu
New Delhi: It was in 1987 Kishori Lal Sharma, a Congressman, first landed in Amethi with instructions from the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to monitor and review work in his constituency and for the past 37 years, he has remained the eyes and ears of the Gandhi family there.
Now, there is a role reversal as Sharma, who is only used to seek votes for either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi or their confidantes, pads up for a different innings with Congress choosing him to be its candidate in the Gandhi bastion.
Sharma, who hails from Punjab's Ludhiana and had met Rajiv in 1983, will be facing his first election though he has been the eyes and ears as well as the face of the Gandhis in both these constituencies. His relationship with the family grew stronger after Rajiv's assassination in 1991 and when Satish Sharma contested from Amethi, Sharma continued to coordinate the work in the seat.
He is also credited for managing the first election of Sonia in Amethi in 1999 and later when she shifted to Raebareli. He then started looking after the affairs of both Raebareli and Amethi.
With Sonia taking the Rajya Sabha route leaving Raebareli and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remaining adamant on not fighting elections this time, the family then decided it was time to nominate Sharma to fight the polls. For Sharma, the task is important as Rahul lost the seat in 2019 under his watch and he has to regain it.
In 2019, Sharma was blamed for antagonising local influencers, including caste leaders, in Amethi which is said to have impacted Rahul’s prospects.
Sharma, this time, was taken aback by the decision to field him while the party was initially toying with the idea of fielding leaders like Supriya Shrinate or family confidante Satish Sharma’s daughter. By choosing Sharma, the Congress also kept the fight low profile.
Sources said the calculation is that they could translate the goodwill they have in favour of Sharma, who knows Amethi voters and party workers well. He will be taking on BJP's Smriti Irani, who defeated Rahul in 2019.
The importance Sharma enjoys was evident when Priyanka Gandhi led his roadshow along with former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot before he filed his nominations. "Our family has a long-standing relationship with Kishori Lal Sharma-ji. He has always been engaged wholeheartedly in serving the people of Amethi and Raebareli. His passion for public service is an example in itself," she said.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh posted on 'X', "The Congress family is built on the expectations and aspirations of lakhs of workers. Yesterday, an eminent journalist was sarcastically asking a ground worker of the Congress Party in Amethi, 'When will it be your turn to get tickets?' Here it is! A common Congress worker will break the arrogance of the BJP in Amethi."
The first time a Gandhi family member won the Amethi seat was Sanjay Gandhi in 1980 after he tasted defeat in 1977. However after his death, Rajiv took over the seat and won till 1991 while family confidante Satish Sharma won the bypoll after Rajiv's assassination.
The seat then went to the BJP in 1996 and 1998 polls but Sonia regained it in 1999. She left Amethi for Rahul when he debuted in 2004 and moved to Raebareli.