KL Sharma from Amethi: 3rd non-Gandhi family member picked by Cong since 1967 Mediainsights.in

Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Wayanad in Kerala, has also been fielded from Raebareli, the seat that his mother Sonia Gandhi has been representing since 2004. 

For the first time in a quarter of a century, the Amethi seat will not see a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family in the electoral race. The last instance of a non-Gandhi family member being fielded from Amethi was in 1998, when the Congress chose veteran leader Captain Satish Sharma for the seat. Sharma, however, lost to BJP’s Sanjaya Sinh. Prior to that, Sharma had emerged victorious against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Raja Mohan Singh in the 1996 general elections. 

Also Read: Meet Congress candidate KL Sharma who will be contesting against BJP’s Smriti Irani from Amethi in Lok Sabha polls

Amethi has been a stronghold of the Congress party for most of the time since its inception in 1967, with the exception of a few years in the 1970s and 1990s, and most notably in 2019 when BJP leader Smriti Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi. 

Congress leader Vidya Dhar Bajpai was the first member of parliament (MP) from Amethi in 1967. He won the elections again in 1971. 

Amethi’s connection with the Nehru- Gandhi family can be traced back to 1977 when Sanjay Gandhi lost the election from the seat to Janata Party’s Ravindra Pratap Singh. Four members of the family – Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi – have been elected from the seat so far. 

Three years after losing from Amethi, Sanjay Gandhi st won the seat in 1980 defeated Janata Party’s Ravindra Pratap Singh. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi won the Amethi seat in 1981, 1984, 1989 and 1991. 

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1999 forcing a by-election for the seat. Congress veteran Captain Satish Sharma won the seat in 1991 by polls. He retained it in 1996. BJP’s Sanjay Sinh however defeated Satish Sharma in 1998 elections in Amethi. 

In 1999, however, Sonia Gandhi made the electoral debut from Amethi and won. Later Sonia shifted to Raebareli and Rahul Gandhi won the seat for three terms in 2004, 2009 and 2014. Rahul lost the seat to Smriti Irani in 2019.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress fields Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi

A Congress loyalist, Kishori Lal Sharma hails from Ludhiana, Punjab. His association with Congress goes back to 1983, when he began working with Rajiv Gandhi. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Sharma worked with Captain Satish Sharma in Amethi and was associated with Sonia Gandhi in Amethi in 1999. Later, Sharma worked as in-charge of both Raebareli and Amethi seats. 

“You never know; Sharma can make the contest tough for Smriti Irani. He knows Amethi like the back of his hand,” said a political analyst.

List of Congress candidates from Amethi 1967:

1967:  Vidya Dhar Bajpai : Won

1971:  Vidya Dhar Bajpai : Won

1977 : Sanjay Gandhi :  Lost              

1980 : Sanjay Gandhi : Won (By-election)

1981: Rajiv Gandhi: Won

1984: Rajiv Gandhi: Won

1989: Rajiv Gandhi: Won

1991: Rajiv Gandhi: Won

1991: Satish Sharma: Won (By-election)

1996: Captain Satish Sharma: Won

1998 : Captain Satish Sharma : Lost

1999: Sonia Gandhi: Won

2004: Rahul Gandhi : Won

2009: Rahul Gandhi : Won

2014: Rahul Gandhi : Won

2019: Rahul Gandhi : Lost

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Published: 03 May 2024, 11:06 AM IST