In Amethi, Gandhi family loyalist on the verge of defeating Smriti Irani: Who is K L Sharma?

Chosen by the Gandhi family to carry forward the baton in Amethi, and contesting his first election, Kishorilal Sharma is leading Union minister Smriti Irani by more than 71,000 votes in Amethi.

Last month, speaking to The Indian Express, Sharma spoke of his long association with the Congress. “I have served the region for 40 years and know Amethi very well. I came here in 1983 as a Youth Congress representative to work for Rajiv (Gandhi) ji and have remained here since then. Except 1981, I managed all of Rajiv ji’s remaining elections.”

Before Sharma, it was speculated that AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would contest the seat but the party finally chose Sharma, a longtime Gandhi family aide, as Rahul Gandhi opted to contest from neighbouring Rae Bareli.

Sharma, originally from Ludhiana in Punjab, was first picked up under a programme launched by Rajiv Gandhi, who made his electoral debut from Amethi in 1981, to identify a young brigade from outside the region to monitor development work in his seat. As part of this, Sharma, then in his 20s, was initially made the in-charge of the Tiloi Assembly constituency under the Amethi Lok Sabha seat.

Gradually, Sharma became part of Rajiv’s team as he re-contested Amethi, in 1989 and then 1991. He continued to play the same role after Rajiv’s assassination when Captain Satish Sharma contested from Amethi.

After Sonia Gandhi made the electoral plunge in 1999, Sharma’s role expanded. When Sonia moved on to Rae Bareli in 2004, and Rahul Gandhi made his entry into politics from Amethi, Sharma started looking after both constituencies. In 2004 and 2009, he was the backroom man in Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, for Rahul and Sonia, respectively.

In 2014, however, as per sources,