Who is Kishori Lal Sharma? The Politics Behind The Rahul Gandhi’s Move From Amethi To Rae Bareli In the 2024 Polls

Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Rae Bareli, while Congress has selected Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi.

Kishori Lal Sharma

The Congress party has chosen to field a non-Gandhi family member from Amethi in the Lok Sabha elections, while Rahul Gandhi will run from Rae Bareli, a move that has surprised many. An Amethi native named Kishori Lal Sharma has been nominated from Amethi.

He has long been a close aide to the Gandhi family. The Congress put a stop to all the speculation surrounding what have historically been two of the party’s most significant seats on Friday, a few hours before the deadline for announcing nominations for the two seats.

Why is Kishori Lal Sharma Trending

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on X

Kishori Lal Sharma, the Congress’s Amethi contender, has a long history in the local political scene. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on X on Friday morning, “Our family has had a long association with Kishori Lal Sharma ji… Kishori Lal Ji’s loyalty and dedication towards duty will definitely bring him success in this election.”

किशोरी लाल शर्मा जी से हमारे परिवार का वर्षों का नाता है। अमेठी, रायबरेली के लोगों की सेवा में वे हमेशा मन-प्राण से लगे रहे। उनका जनसेवा का जज्बा अपने आप में एक मिसाल है।

आज खुशी की बात है कि श्री किशोरी लाल जी को कांग्रेस पार्टी ने अमेठी से उम्मीदवार बनाया है। किशोरी लाल जी की…

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 3, 2024

 

 

Rahul Gandhi, Who is Kishori Lal Sharma

Since 2004, Rahul Gandhi has served as the MP for Amethi three times. However, in 2019, Smriti Irani of the BJP won the seat.

With his mother Sonia Gandhi becoming a Rajya Sabha MP earlier this year, the family scion has completely abandoned the seat this time and moved to Rae Bareli, another stronghold within the family. Since2004, Sonia Gandhi has served as a Rae Bareli MP.

On May 20, voters will cast ballots in the fifth round of the seven-phase general elections for both seats.

What Motivated Rahul Gandi to Go To Rae Bareli?

Gandhi is requesting a rerun from Wayanad, where he is currently the MP, in addition to Rae Bareli. There has been conjecture for some weeks over Gandhi’s preference between the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, and there is mounting pressure regarding Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s potential candidacy from either of these two districts. But by Thursday night, it was obvious that Gandhi would probably run from Rae Bareli.

The BJP had already announced Dinesh Pratap Singh as their candidate for Rae Bareli, thus the Congress waited until the very last minute to announce their candidature. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Singh was defeated by Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli by a considerable margin.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge

 

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, according to sources, was keen for Gandhi to run from Amethi because internal party polls and on-the-ground reports indicated that Smriti Irani, the incumbent MP and BJP’s repeat candidate, was facing a significant anti-incumbency campaign in the constituency. According to accounts, Gandhi was hesitant to relinquish his Wayanad seat, even in the event that he ran and triumphed from Amethi.

But internal party polls conducted by the Congress revealed that Rae Bareli is the “safer” seat and that a Gandhi face must be put forward as a result.

Additionally, according to sources, Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, which is the party’s ally in India, told the Congress that a Gandhi family member must run for office in Rae Bareli. Thus, Gandhi is now formally a contender from Rae Bareli following all of this discussion.