Congress Amethi candidate KL Sharma: 'Not Gandhi family's servant'

Kishori Lal Sharma with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Amethi.

Reacting to the BJP’s ‘peon’ dig, Congress party’s Amethi candidate, Kishori Lal Sharma said on Sunday that he was a seasoned politician, not the servant of the Gandhi family. KL Sharma said he would defeat BJP MP Smriti Irani from the party’s former stronghold.

In a surprise move, the Congress fielded KL Sharma from Amethi. Rahul Gandhi, the former MP from the seat, filed his nomination from Sonia Gandhi’s old Lok Sabha constituency, Rae Bareli.

KL Sharma said the decision to field him from Amethi was taken by the party’s high command. He said he didn’t serve the Gandhi family professionally. He said he had not been on the Congress party’s payroll.

Kishori Lal Sharma pointed out that he had come to Amethi in 1983 from Punjab because of his association with the Youth Congress.

He said he was a seasoned politician and would defeat Smriti Irani.

“It was a decision taken by the party high command. Nobody had been finalised as a candidate for this seat earlier. However, I can say with full confidence and conviction that I will defeat Smriti Irani. This is a big statement I am making today. ‘Mai koi Naukri nahi kar raha Gandhi Parivar ki’ (I am not a servant of Gandhi family here). I am a seasoned politician and have been so for many years now. I came here in 1983 through my association with the Youth Congress. I am not on the payroll of the Congress. I am a pure politician,” he told ANI.

Amethi had been the Congress party’s bastion till 2019, when Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi with a margin of over 55,000 votes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took potshots at Rahul Gandhi for not contesting the election from Amethi, saying the latter had run away fearing defeat.

KL Sharma accused the BJP of weaponizing the media against the Opposition.

“How many times has Rahul-ji been given space? People are questioning them (BJP) on what they have done in the last 10 years but they divert from the real issues and talk about mangalsutras,” he said.

The Amethi candidate said PM Modi had not fulfilled promises the latter made in 2014.

KL Sharma is considered to be the loyalist of the Gandhi family. He used to politically manage Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies in the absence of the Gandhis.

BJP leader Dinesh Pratap Singh, Rahul Gandhi’s opponent from Rae Bareli, had recently said that the Congress stalwart sent his peon to contest the elections against Smriti Irani.

“Does Rahul Gandhi really want to win Amethi and Raebareli? If he did, why would he give a Lok Sabha ticket to his peon from Amethi? The Congress will lose both Raebareli and Amethi seats,” Singh had said.

Singh had also accused Rahul Gandhi of running away from Amethi.

Voting in Amethi and Rae Bareli will take place on May 20.

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