Lok Sabha elections 2024: Meet Gandhi family loyalist KL Sharma, Smriti Irani's contendor in Amethi

The grand old party Congress on Friday announced Kishori Lal Sharma's candidature from its erstwhile stronghold Amethi. In Amethi, Sharma will be met with a challenging and an even more uphill contest against the firebrand sitting BJP MP Smriti Irani.

Originally hailing from Punjab's Ludhiana, Sharma has been closely associated with the Gandhi family since the early 80s. In 1983, Sharma emerged onto the scene of politics in Rae Bareli and Amethi alongside former PM Rajiv Gandhi. Sharma became closer to the Gandhi family after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991.

KL Sharma has served as the manager for the Congress party. Besides this, he has also filled in for Sonia Gandhi in her absence at Rae Bareli. Besides this, KL Sharma was also instrumental in Sonia Gandhi's first electoral win from Amethi in 1999, when she first entered the Parliament.

After Sonia Gandhi vacated her seat Amethi for son Rahul Gandhi and moved to Rae Bareli in 2004, Sharma began managing the party's affairs in both Amethi and Rae Bareli. 

While the battle of Amethi is a tough one for Congress this time around, KL Sharma is widely popular in the constituency. Sharma has actively worked towards improving infrastructure in the Lok Sabha constituency.

This includes construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, schools and healthcare facilities. He supported the establishment of hospitals, clinics, and health centers. He has also advocated for better connectivity within the region.

As the Pro-Chancellor of Jaipur National University, Sharma has encouraged initiatives that provide quality education to the youth. Given Amethi's largely rural character, KL Sharma, if voted to power, is also expected to focus on policies related to agriculture, irrigation and rural agriculture along with measures to improve farmers' income. 

Commenting on KL Sharma's candidature from Amethi against Smriti Irani, Congress worker Yogendra Mishra told news agency ANI that he is confident of the Congress' win in the constituency. He added that there is no resentment among the party workers. 

Amethi was the Gandhi family's bastion until 2019, when Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani. In the 2019 general elections, Rahul Gandhi was chosen as the MP from Kerala's Wayanad and is currently representing the constituency in the Lok Sabha.